A Hope Renewed
by Tarwen Svit-kona
Summary: What really lies within the menacing confines of the Spine? Aletheia and her family join the Varden in their quest to defeat the Empire.
1. Prologue

Began: January 23, 2006

Finished: January 23, 2006

Prologue

* * *

Darkness covered the tree tops in the Spine, as the sun descended below the horizon. A slight breeze spread through the trees, rustling the delicate leaves upon the branches. But the breeze ceased, leaving the Spine blanketed in a deafening silence.

The few who traveled through here found the silence maddening and menacing. They believed the Spine to be inhabited by monsters of the night. This was the reason why even the bravest of souls never went in – and those who did, never came out.

But beyond the threatening branches, which loomed forebodingly above, and beyond the terrifying sounds heard throughout the Spine, there was a calm serenity. This tranquility, however, was not found in the shallow parts of the Spine, but deep in the heart of it, where none had dared venture.

Little did anyone know, that in the middle of the treacherous forest, lay a small population. Not of deer or monsters – but of mystical creatures, long believed to be lost in the ages.

Deep in the heart of the Spine, lived dragons.

* * *

Eek, I know. It's really boring and really short. But I promise that the next chapter will be longer and more entertaining. 


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Pronunciations: Tearlach (Tear-lah-k), Micah (My-cah).

This is chapter 1. I accidentally uploaded the wrong version of chapter 1 last night, but this one is the right one. Hope you like it!

* * *

Chapter 1

Before the fall of the Dragon Riders,a prophecy was made.It was not awell-known prophecy - in fact, only two Dragon Riders knew of the prophecy's contents. Those two Dragon Riders were Vrael and Oromis.

The prophecygave achilling omen for the fate of the Dragon Riders. It told of a crazed Rider betraying his fellow Riders through the madness from losing his dragon. The Riders Vrael and Oromis did everything in their power to stop the prophecy from coming true by denying the Rider an egg. But when it was evident that they could not cease the prophecy from coming true when he stole the last four eggs, taking one for himself, they came to an agreement; Oromis and his dragon, Glaedr, would live in secret in the confines of Ellesmera in case the battle went ill for Vrael. This would ensure the survival of the Riders and the promise of future generations of Dragon Riders when the time was right.

In order for their plan to work, they bred two dragon eggs – silver and black - which would be given to a man and woman for safe keeping. They trained the man and woman in the ways of the Riders, so they could teach the recipients of the two dragon eggs. Whenever the two eggs hatched, they were confident that a whole new race of dragons would be born, for one egg was male and the other was female.

It cast a small light of hope for the free people of Alagaesia amid the dark shadow that had developed through the rise of Galbatorix.

Once Vrael had fallen, all Oromis had to do was wait; wait for the coming of the New Riders.

---

In the midst of the dark trees, a young woman of nineteen sat meditating. Her dark brown hair rested on her delicate shoulders, occasionally blowing with the small breeze. Her eyes were closed and a slight grin played across her lips showing her relaxed demeanor. All was silent in the area, not a sound could be heard.

Suddenly, a branch cracked not too far in the distance. The woman's amethyst eyes snapped open. Her body was still, her eyes making the only movement as they swept the trees, searching for the source of the noise. When she saw nothing, she slowly closed her eyes again, satisfied with the silence.

Behind her, a man walked steadily closer, cursing himself for not noticing the twig lying on the soft earth. He unsheathed his blade without making a single sound. He smirked to himself, thinking he had the upper-hand.

As he came behind her, raising his blade for the fatal blow, the woman rose swiftly, drawing her blade in the blink of an eye. She flipped backwards, putting some distance between herself and the young man.

They both stood silent, measuring each other, trying to find some obvious weakness. The man made the first move, running towards her with his sword raised. She raised her sword to block his swing, sending him stumbling back with an almighty push. She stepped forward swinging her blade at his midsection which he blocked easily with a flick of his wrist.

Frustrated, she swung her blade in a graceful arc towards her opponent. As he blocked the swing their blades illuminated the forest with enormous sparks of orange and green. Seeing that she was becoming angry, he started executing a series of strong blows against her, forcing her back.

He paused, swinging his sword intricately.

She smiled. _Show off. _She then kicked his stomach, sending him stumbling backwards onto the ground. Running towards him, she swung her deep orange blade, pointing it at his neck.

"Dead." She said with a satisfied smile.

"You never would give up, Aletheia," the man said, breathing hard.

"Nor would you, Micah," she responded, sheathing her blade before she offered her hand. He took it with a grin, standing up.

"I'll have to tell Uncle that you finally beat me," Micah said, sheathing his green blade.

Aletheia laughed. "It's been a long time coming, cousin."

"Maybe," he shrugged, walking towards the trees.

Aletheia caught up with him and nudged him on his arm. "Are you okay, Micah?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Of course I am. Now let's get back home so we can have dinner. I'm starved."

"Me too," Aletheia said, holding her stomach. They walked in silence, occasionally ducking underneath a low-lying branch or squeezing between tightly packed trees. Aletheia quickly grew bored with the silence before a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Race you back." And with that, she took off, jumping gracefully over fallen branches and brush.

Micah shook his head. "She'll never grow up." But, with a smile, he too, shot off after her, determined to win.

--

That night at dinner, Aletheia and Micah sat at a circular wooden table along with Aletheia's parents, Mandall and Marissa.

"How did your meditation go today, Theia," her father, Mandall asked, calling her by her nickname.

"It was okay," she muttered, picking at her food.

"What's wrong, Theia?" her mother asked, noticing her daughter's unusual lack of appetite. "Is the meat not cooked enough?"

"No, it's fine mother," she said, not looking up. "I'm just a little worried about Tearlach; I haven't heard from him since morning."

"I'm sure he's fine, Theia," Mandall said. "He'll be back soon. Now please eat this wonderful dinner your mother has prepared for us."

Theia nodded her head, stuffing a piece of meat in her mouth.

* * *

As soon as dinner was over, Theia walked to her room and flopped down on her bed. She looked up at the cracked ceiling, wondering if her life was going to be this redundant.

"All I do is get up at the crack of dawn, meditate, eat breakfast, meditate, train with father, meditate, eat dinner, then sleep," she mumbled to herself, frustrated. She hated living away from any form of civilization. She had lived in the Spine ever since she was born, so she had no friends growing up, other than her cousin, Micah. That is, until her fifteenth birthday, when she was given an egg. Not any old egg, but an orange dragon egg. However, dragons were not new to her. After all, she had been around them ever since she could remember. Her father had a dragon, her mother had a dragon and her cousin got a dragon when she was ten (he is five years older than her). But her parents never told her where they got their two dragons. It was always a "we'll tell you when you're old enough" topic.

Aletheia sometimes wondered what it'd be like to have a normal life. Not one with dragons walking around, breathing fire everywhere. She hated the little house they had. It was shabby and old, since it was built almost twenty years ago, away from the nearest city. All her parents had to build the house were the trees and dirt. But she was always puzzled abouthow they managed to build a house without more people.

She sighed as she climbed into bed and fell asleep, hoping that Tearlach would show up before we awoke the next morning.

* * *

Sure enough, the next morning, Theia was awoken by a small growl next to her ear. At first she rolled to the other side of the bed, finding the small noise to be an unnecessary interruption to her sleep. But when the growl got louder, she couldn't ignore it any longer. Her lilac eyes opened to see a pair of ginger eyes staring right at her – her dragon had poked his head through her window.

"Tearlach!"

_Yes, little one, I am here._

_Where were you yesterday? I tried to contact you all day, but you put up a wall._

_I was hunting._

Theia became frustrated. _You're not supposed to leave me for hours at a time. That's not what Dragons should do to their Riders!_

The deep orange dragon lowered its head, knowing she was right.

_I know, Theia. I'm sorry. But you know that it is harder to hunt in the middle of the Spine since there are several dragons here now. Meat is harder to come by, so I must hunt closer to the outside of the Spine._

Theia nodded her head. She should've remembered that. After all, there were a total of four dragons living in the Spine; Tearlach, Adelbert (her cousin's dragon), Anassa (her mother's) and Gunther (her father's).

_It's alright, Tearlach. I shouldn't have been so hard on you. I was just worried. _

"Theia!"

Tearlach smirked. _Your father is calling for you, little one._

Theia rolled her eyes as she walked out of her room.

"Yes father?"

"Gunther and I will be training you and Tearlach after sundown tonight," he said, not looking up from a scroll he was reading.

Theia nodded, walking outside to spend some time with Tearlach. Even though they did not live near any civilization, being between Teirm and Narda, they could not train in broad daylight; otherwise they risked being seen by a random traveler. So they had to wait for the cover of darkness to train with the dragons.

They had made this a habit, ever since there was an incident four and half years ago. Tearlach's egg had been given to her at the age of fifteen, a tradition long held with the family. Her father was training her and Tearlach outside of the Spine one day and a passerby saw Tearlach. He, of course, became frightened and ran away. Ever since then, her father would not allow her and Tearlach out of the Spine during the day.

When Theia walked outside, she saw Tearlach and Adelbert, her cousin Micah's green dragon, wrestling in a huge clearing. She rolled her eyes, muttering something like, _males, _and walked over to Micah.

"How long have they been at it?" she asked.

"They just started," he said, his eyes never leaving the battle. "You know, your dragon has a certain knack for thoroughly irritating my dragon. Maybe it's because he'salmost fiveyears younger than Adelbert and still has a lot to learn - Just like a certain cousin of mine."

Theia laughed and punched Micah in the arm. He grimaced, rubbing his arm. "Okay, maybe not a LOT."

* * *

So? How was it? Constructive criticism is welcome :) Review please!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Not mine. Any of it.

Chapter 2

_It was night time and four cloaked figures could faintly be seen running towards the woods of Du Weldenvarden. As they each entered the wood, the last of the quartet looked behind him hesitantly before slipping in between the thick trees. Two of the figures in the back paused when they entered the wood fully, noticing the thousands of trees that occupied the small area they traveled. Some had trunks that had to be about fifty feet wide. It was an old wood – more than two thousand years old. But instead of the rotting trees that were in the Spine, the trees looked fresh. _

_The smell of pine was thick in the air. Even though it was pitch dark, the people could tell that in the sunlight, the woods of Du Weldenvarden held a majestic beauty that could not be formed overnight. The long progression of time had taken its toll on the wood, providing an ancient magnificence only found in the wildest of dreams._

_The group hurried amidst the trees, changing their course frequently as if to shake off any followers. _

_When they reached a small clearing near the small Elf city of Kirtan, the two leaders stopped to face the two followers. They did not lower their hoods. However, strands of blonde hair could be seen from underneath the two men's cloaks. The two leaders crossed their arms across their chest ominously._

"_I'm afraid the time has finally come," the man on the left said solemnly, reaching into his cloak pocket. He brought out two small objects, wrapped in leather. The man on the right, the shorter of the two, stiffened slightly at the sight of the objects._

"_We had hoped that it would not come to this, but we were unable to prevent it," the taller man said, as he handed the items to the two people before them._

_Speaking for the first time, the shorter man said, "We have taught you to the best of our abilities for the past four years. We are confident you will not fail us. The fate of Alagaesia lies in your hands."_

_Finally, the two followers lowered their hoods slowly. Long brown hair came tumbling gracefully out of one hood, revealing a young woman. The other revealed a man, no more than twenty five, with a somber expression on his face. _

"_We will keep the Dragon Riders alive. We will not fail you, masters," he said, bowing his head in respect. The young woman followed suit, before rushing forward to hug the two cloaked figures. _

"_Be careful, masters," she said softly, backing away slowly._

"_We will surely meet again, young ones," the man on the left said, before taking off towards the West - His destination being Utgard._

"_May good fortune rule over you," the young man said in the Ancient Language to the last figure, touching his fingers to his lips._

"_May the stars watch over you," he replied._

"_And may peace live in your heart," the woman said. _

_The figure nodded before darting off to the north, towards his own destination: Ellesmera.

* * *

_

The next morning, Aletheia awoke, with absolutely no recollection of her dream. As she got out of bed, the warm smell of her mother's cinnamon porridge reached her nose. She savored the smell before grabbing a cloak beside her bed and wrapping it around her cold body. When she entered the kitchen, only her mom and cousin, Micah were there – her father was absent.

"Where's father?" she asked as she sat down at the table.

"He went to Teirm for a couple of days to buy more supplies and livestock," her mom replied, ladling some porridge into her clay bowl. Aletheia ate deeply, flinching slightly as the steaming hot porridge burned her throat.

"Oh, Theia, Tearlach wanted me to tell you that he went hunting for a few hours and he'd be back mid-morning," Micah said, mid-bite.

Aletheia's heart dropped slightly. She had hoped her and Tearlach would be able to spend the morning together. As soon as she was done, she washed her bowl and walked outside into the chilly air.

_Hello Aletheia. _Her cousin's dragon said from behind her.

She jumped slightly, but turned around to stroke Adelbert's emerald scales.

_Hello Adelbert. _

_You seem sad, young one._

_Tearlach has been running off without telling me, lately. It's bothering me._

_Do not fret, little one. He is merely going through a stage of independence. After spending many years with a Rider, a Dragon can feel slightly dependent and will break away slightly. It's merely a stage. He will grow out of it very soon. I'll make sure of it._

_Thank you, Adelbert._

He nodded his regal head and nuzzled her cheek.

_You are almost twenty, young one._

_Yes. For some reason, I feel that this is a critical age for me. Like something is going to happen that will change my life forever._

Adelbert merely hummed softly, giving Aletheia the suspicion that he knew something she did not.

_What? _She asked him.

_When the time comes, you will know. _

Little did Aletheia know that her instincts were right.

When a Rider reaches the fifth year mark of their training, they become a real Rider – no longer a mere trainee. Little did she know that long ago, when she was just three years old, an old man told her of her promise and destiny. At the age of twenty, it would be time for her and the other three Riders around her to emerge from the shadow of the Spine. It would be time for them to aid the Varden in their quest to defeat the Dark King of Uru'bean.

* * *

I absolutely hated this chapter and it is subject to intense revision in the future. It's really short and EXTREMELY boring, I know. So I applaud you immensely if you made it this far. This was mainly a filler chapter – I will get to the good stuff soon. I just figured I'd have another update since I probably won't update for about a week (I have a hectic week and a half ahead of me). But I will try my hardest to get a chapter that is 100 times better than this one on here soon.

Review? Constructive criticism?


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 A Hope Renewed

A/N: I don't think Paolini uses the regular calendar months in his books, but I'm going to, just to let you know. : )

I wanted to say THANK YOU to my wonderful reviewers. You don't know how much they mean to me and how much they motivate me to keep writing. So thanks so much everyone:)

* * *

The next day, Aletheia's father, Mandall, arrived home mid-day leading their horse with a small wagon attached to its harnesses. Aletheia heard him coming up the path between the dense trees, so she ran out to meet him. As she ran outside, she saw him leading not only their old mare but another horse. This horse had the most brilliant white coat that she had ever seen.

"Where did you get him?" she asked as she walked up to the stallion, stroking its neck.

"Teirm," he said shortly. "He wasn't being treated like the noble steed he is, so I bought him off a trader."

"What's his name?"

"Snowfire," he said as he tied up the other horse to a picket. "The trader said this one had seen many miles and came from a mysterious young man." With that, he walked inside. Most likely to tell her mother he was back.

Aletheia led the horse to another picket to brush him off.

Suddenly, Anassa, Gunther, and Tearlach came from the right with huge beasts in their jaws. Unlike the mare, which reared and became increasingly restless, Snowfire just looked at the dragons as if they were no surprise to him.

Aletheia noticed this. She eyed him, confused, before turning to the dragons.

_Do you know why he's so calm? Our mare, Myra, is frightened at your presence even after all these years._

Gunther narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the horse and walked slowly up to him. As he came closer to the horse, Snowfire finally became nervous and tried to step backwards. Which was no surprise, as Gunther was taller than three stories. His black scales did nothing to help ease the intimidation he emitted.

When Gunther had briefly scanned the sporadic memories the horse's brain held, he snorted in alarm, backing away slowly. When Aletheia asked him what was wrong, Gunther merely said, _It's nothing, child. Go inside and be with your father – he is weary from travel._

Knowing that she was, yet again, being kept in the dark, Aletheia stomped inside the house.

As soon as she entered the house, she slammed the door. Her mother and father looked up at her from the table in alarm.

"What is it?" her mother asked, her eyes showing the worry she felt.

"I know you are keeping information from me!" she yelled, her temper rising like a snake. "It seems as if everyone knows something that I don't and I hate it!" With that, she ran into her small room and closed the door with a sharp snap. Once she was behind closed doors, she threw herself on her bed and cried. But she stopped, feeling suddenly drawn to a drawer on her bedside table.

She opened the oak drawer and found a picture. No, a fairth. It was of her and an old man. She instantly recognized him as her Uncle Bormir. Before he left, he made her this fairth to serve as a reminder to her of their close bond. Even though she was only three at the time, she could remember every single wrinkle, every single scar, and even the distinct smell of pipe tobacco that clung to his clothes. She missed him dearly, for she felt that he was the only one who would understand how she was feeling right now.

She had had hope of seeing him again, until a year ago, when her father told her that he was killed in an ambush. She remembered crying all afternoon after she learned of her Uncle's death. It nearly killed her to discover the horrible truth. Unprepared for sudden reoccurrence of her memories, she broke down in more tears.

Hearing her racking sobs, her mother and father looked at each other, a silent understanding passing between them.

As Marissa rose from the table to check on her daughter, Mandall sat at the table covering his face with his scarred hands. When he lowered his hands, his face was tear-streaked.

_It is time.

* * *

_

Meanwhile, as soon as Aletheia had run inside the house, Anassa, Gunther's mate, walked up to him and put her silver head against his.

_What is it, my love?_

_It seems as if he has seen one of our kind before_. He said, after a moment.

Anassa snorted, her sense of alarm spreading like a fierce wildfire to Adelbert and Tearlach.

_Are you sure, Gunther?_ She asked.

_Yes, my love. There is another Dragon and Rider in Alagaesia besides the King and Shruikan._

_That can mean only one thing. _She said in awe, yet her voice betrayed a sense of sadness.

Gunther hummed deeply. _He succeeded._

_

* * *

_

"Theia?" Marissa said, knocking softly on the door. "May I come in?"

Nothing.

"Theia?" As she opened the door, she saw that Aletheia was absent from her room. But she automatically knew where she was.

"Mandall!" Marissa called, walking down the hall. "Our daughter is gone."

Mandall looked up at his wife, with a knowing expression on his blotchy face.

"She's with Tearlach."

* * *

Aletheia sat upon her orange dragon, enjoying the chill breeze breathing on her face as Tearlach flew amid the dying sunlight. It had been almost three weeks since her and Tearlach last flew together. In her mind, she belonged in the sky, with the wind whipping her delicate face. Flying with her best friend was the most exhilarating and comforting experience she could ever imagine. When they were flying, they were not dragon and human – they were one.

For so long, she wished to fly free with Tearlach when the sun's rays flooded the skies. She yearned to see the sun illuminate Tearlach's ginger scales, displaying a myriad of indescribable colors. And tonight, she defied everything her father had taught her and flew with Tearlach when the sun's rays where still bright.

But most of all, she craved to show everyone who she was and be free of the Spine. She longed to confront the man who had forced her family into living in the black shadows of the Spine: Galbatorix. Granted, she knew she didn't fully comprehend who he was and she didn't know _what_ he was. But all she knew was that he was an evil man and deserved to be punished.

As soon as her thought stumbled upon the fact that she didn't know much about Galbatorix, her anger came flooding back to her.

_How could everyone keep everything from me?_ She asked herself angrily.

_Because it had to be done, little one._ Tearlach said, entering her thoughts.

_I deserve to know!_

_Theia, you may think you were ready for the truth when you were younger, but the fact remains that you were an extremely rash young girl. If you knew at the age of sixteen what you are about to find out tonight, you would have done something you would've regretted. Now that you are more level headed, your father and mother will tell you everything. Just as they did with your cousin, Micah. Believe me, Theia. I know you even more than you know yourself. Trust me._

Aletheia sighed, knowing her dragon was right.

_Alright, Tearlach. Let's go home._

As Tearlach descended towards the Spine, he roared fiercely as an arrow pierced his wing.

"Tearlach!" Aletheia screamed for him, as he landed on the ground with a loud thump. She quickly jumped off him to examine his wing.

_Where did it come from?_ She asked him, as she muttered a few words that her father taught her to heal Tearlach's pierced wing.

_There_. He said, pointing with his head toward the Spine.

She quickly turned to face the Spine, trying to find the culprit. She didn't have to look far.

_THEIA! Watch out!_

Just as Aletheia tried to put up her guard, she was knocked off her feet by someone to her right. She lay on the ground, gasping for air, her vision extremely blurring after hitting the ground so hard.

Tearlach roared angrily at the person, rearing and slashing at him. He back away quickly. Aletheia thought he was running away, but when she looking up, she saw him running to stand next to a dark mass on the outskirts of the Spine.

As she stood up to face the young, but unnaturally handsome man, she tasted blood in her mouth. The man came closer and as he did, Aletheia realized what the thing was. As her vision cleared, she saw a dragon! There were more dragons in Alagaesia! _More secrets._ She muttered furiously. She saw him whisper something to his dragon, before the dragon crouched and took off.

"I just want to talk," the man said, walking up to her.

But she stepped backwards, putting her hand on the hilt of her curved sword.

_Tearlach, watch out for the dragon. I have a feeling these two aren't on our side._

Just as Tearlach started to ask her what she was going to do, Aletheia unsheathed her sword and attacked the man.

_Theia, no!_

Almost too late, the young man took out his sword to block her swing at his neck. Returning the favor, he took a swing at her stomach. She parried the blow and danced backwards putting several paces between the two.

_He's fast!_

But before she could think about anything else, he ran towards her, aiming his sword at her legs. She jumped quickly and swiped at his sword arm. She felt a burst of triumph as she sliced open his sword arm, causing blood to spill everywhere. Just as she thought the battle had ended shortly, he switched his blade to his left hand and started a series of strong blows.

She cursed violently, _he's skilled on both arms!_

Aletheia blocked every swing he took at her, but her moves became sluggish. She could feel her energy draining from her.

_Tearlach! Help!_

But he was nowhere to be seen. As she quickly tried to reach out to him, she could feel him in the air, battling viciously with the other dragon. She screamed out in pain as she felt the dragon take a slice at Tearlach's stomach.

Still on the offensive, the young man began slowing his movements; allowing her some leeway in her blocks.

_He's toying with me!_

This sparked her temper. She hated when her cousin or father took it easy on her because she was a girl. So she doubled her efforts, drawing on the energy of her surroundings, just as he mother taught her a week ago. Her swings became stronger as her anger grew towards the man. But just as she was about to back him against a tree, her foot caught on a root and she stumbled forward. As she went to stand up, she felt a cold blade on the nape of her neck.

"Do not move until I tell you," he said softly. Aletheia's heart was beating fast as she suddenly became frightened. _What's going to happen to me?_

As she knelt there, in front of the man, she longed to hear Tearlach's voice in her mind, telling her he was alright.

_Tearlach? Speak to me!_

_I can't take him any longer. Run! Run into the wood and get your father!_

_I can't, I've been defeated_. She said solemnly.

"Tell your dragon to come to us. I will tell mine to cease the attack," the man said sharply. "If you tell him to flee, I will have my dragon tear him to pieces. Understand?"

Knowing she had been forced into a corner, she nodded her comprehension.

_Tearlach, come to the edge of the Spine. He wants to see you._

_I am coming, little one._

Not thirty seconds later, Tearlach landed next to the pair, growling when he saw the position his Rider was in. The other dragon landed next to Tearlach.

The man grabbed Aletheia by her arm and brought her back against his front, holding his sword against her neck. As she looked at Tearlach, she gasped, wanting to throw up. His legs were torn to pieces and he had a long, deep gash that ran between his eyes. She saw drops of blood splatter the ground. Hot tears ran down her cheeks.

Her gaze turned towards the dragon on his right. The dragon had armor on and, in result, had hardly a scratch on him. Aletheia felt her blood boil.

"What do you want with us?" Aletheia asked, feeling the blade slowly cut into her neck. As it cut the skin slightly, she flinched, feeling blood trickle down her neck.

"Oh it's not what I want with you, it's what my King wants with you," the man said.

"What does that madman want with us?" she asked viciously.

"He wants your help in unifying Alagaesia under one banner," he said.

"Never!" she muttered.

"You won't have a choice, milady. You and your dragon are going to come with us to Uru'bean."

"Like hell we will!" she yelled.

Stop!" he screamed. He nodded towards his dragon, and the dragon took a battered Tearlach's neck into his jaws.

Aletheia immediately stopped yelling, in fear for her dragon's life.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am a Rider for King Galbatorix," he replied simply.

"But what's your name?" she said, frustrated.

"My name is Murtagh," he said simply before she felt a sharp rap on her head. But before the world dissolved in darkness, she heard a collective roar come from the Spine.

* * *

Hmm ... Will her parents save her time? Or will she be a captive of Murtagh's:grins evilly:

Please review! I hope this one was better than the last one?

Also, none of this is mine – except for Aletheia, her dragon and her family (and their dragons). Please don't take them.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Not mine. Period.

A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed Chapter 3. Please review! I want to see what y'all think and if you have any suggestions. I will reply if you have any questions or comments!

* * *

Chapter 4

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am a Rider for King Galbatorix," he replied simply.

"But what's your name?" she said, frustrated.

"My name is Murtagh," he said simply before she felt a sharp rap on her head. Before the world dissolved in darkness, she heard a collective roar come from the Spine.

* * *

No more than ten minutes later, Aletheia woke up to the cold wing whipped her face. Instead of sitting in the saddle of her orange dragon, she was sitting on a blood red dragon. She gasped inwardly as the seriousness of the situation hit her. Aletheia kept her head lolled in order to keep Murtagh from knowing she was awake.

She tried to contact her father.

_Father!_

Nothing.

_Father! Please answer me!_

_Aletheia? Where are you?_

_I've been kidnapped by Galbatorix's Rider!_

_We're coming Aletheia. When I contact you again, this is what I want you to do._

And so, her father told her what to do when he contacted her.

Once their link broke off, she contacted Tearlach – who was flying steadily next to Thorn - and relayed the message to him.

_It is understood, _he replied. Before their connection was cut off, she could feel Tearlach's pain seeping through the bond.

They couldn't risk keeping their connection open. Aletheia was good at hiding her thoughts, but she didn't know how sharp the Rider was.

Ten minutes later, her father contacted her.

_We are coming up behind you. Do it now!_

Snapping her head up quickly, she grabbed her sword and slashed off the straps around her legs and threw herself from Thorn's saddle.

Murtagh screamed something incoherent as she fell.

As Aletheia fell, Tearlach flew underneath her and she landed on his back. She looked up and saw Murtagh and Thorn diving towards them. She then looked behind her and saw three large masses flying towards them. She grinned as Tearlach veered to the left to avoid a clash with Thorn. As Thorn careened downwards, Tearlach vengefully bit the crimson dragon's tail, his sharp white teeth breaking through the metal armor which encased Thorn's tail. Thorn roared agonizingly, before leveling off in the sky and ascending to confront Tearlach. Preparing for the attack, Tearlach blew a long jet of fire at Thorn, making him swerve to the left.

Aletheia screamed in triumph and patted her dragon on his neck for preventing Thorn from attacking them. But Thorn and Murtagh weren't easily put off. Thorn came around for another attack.

As Gunther, Anassa, and Adelbert neared, with Mandall, Marissa, and Micah on their backs respectively, Thorn let out an alarmed roar, hesitating in the sky.

Gunther, with Aletheia's father on his back, collided sickeningly with Thorn and Murtagh. They slashed viciously at each other. Gunther hardly received a scratch from Thorn, seeing as Gunther was a full two sizes bigger than Thorn and far more experienced. Gunther expertly drove his talons in between the armor and into Thorn's legs, causing Thorn to let out a piercing snarl. Immediately, Gunther extended his neck and bit Thorn's right wing. Thorn roared in pain as he fell several feet in the sky. As Gunther opened his jaws to release deadly flames at Murtagh, Thorn backed off, turning South, fleeing.

Seeing that Tearlach, Anassa, and Adelbert had landed with their Riders, Gunther and Mandall landed as well.

"Father!" Aletheia yelled, breaking away from her mother.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gripping her by her shoulders.

"I'm fine," she said. "But Tearlach's not." She turned towards her orange dragon, whose usually glittering orange scales were dulled by dried blood.

_I was helpless_, he said, ashamed. _I'm bigger and older than he is, but he overpowered me_.

_It's not your fault, Tearlach,_ Aletheia said, stroking his scratched neck. _You did not have your armor on._

_We wouldn't have been captured if I had beaten the dragon._

_Tearlach! It's not your fault! Do you hear me?_ Aletheia replied forcefully.

His ginger eyes met her amethyst ones and an understanding passed between them.

"We will train him more," Mandall said. "He shouldn't have been beaten that easily – armor or no armor."

"Is he able to fly back?" her mother asked, eyeing his battered wings.

_I am able._

* * *

As soon as they arrived back home, Aletheia and her mother healed Tearlach. Aletheia was glad to have her mother help her; her mother's strength was healing.

While healing Tearlach, her mother used this as a perfect opportunity to slip in a mini-healing lesson.

"When time is of the essence, do not waste your time on the complex healing spells I taught you before," her mother said. She walked to Tearlach's right wing, which had been torn through by Thorn's sharp talons. "These simple words will close the wound temporarily, giving you the time you need to heal Tearlach while not distracting you from a battle." Marissa muttered a few words and Aletheia watched as the scales came together.

After making sure Tearlach was alright, Aletheia followed her mother back into their home.

Her father was sitting in a chair at the table, with Micah, waiting for the two women.

Aletheia sat down at the table, facing her father. He folded his hands in front of him. Aletheia felt her heart plummet. He always folded his hands like that when he was about to reprimand her.

"First of all, I would like to say that it was extremely foolish of you to run away like that," he said, sternly. As she opened her mouth to reply, her mom stopped her with a sharp look.

"However, I understand why you left," he said, looking at his folded hands. "We have kept you in the dark for many years. I am truly sorry for any pain or anger it caused you, but it had to be done."

"Why?" she asked, trying to keep her temper under the surface.

"Because, we did not believe that you were mature enough to handle the information," he said. He held up his hand when she opened her mouth again. "I ask that you remain quiet, Theia."

She shut her mouth reluctantly.

"I think it's best if I start at the beginning," he said, leaning forward. "There was a prophecy made many years ago about a Dragon Rider who would betray his fellow Riders. It said that this Rider would take over Alagaesia if he received another dragon after his first dragon died. In order to prevent this from happening, the Riders Oromis and Vrael denied him an egg. But when they saw that the man could not be stopped after he stole four eggs, taking one for himself, they quickly bred two Dragon Eggs. They entrusted those two eggs to your mother and I."

Aletheia was suddenly hit with déjà vu. It seemed very familiar.

"At the time, we were being trained as Dragon Riders in order to teach the recipients of the two eggs. As soon as Vrael was defeated and Oromis went into hiding, we came here to the Spine. We did not expect the eggs to hatch for us, but they did. We knew that with this gift, we took on a huge responsibility and duty to the people of Alagaesia.

"With Gunther and Anassa, we had to keep the Dragon Riders alive – and we did. Gunther and Anassa had two dragon eggs. We knew that one of them would be given to our future child, but we did not know where the other one would go. We soon found out. Your Uncle Bormir came to us with his four year old son, Micah. At that time, your mother was pregnant with you. So we knew who would carry on the Rider legacy."

"But why did Uncle come live with us?" Aletheia asked. She had so many questions.

"My mother was killed," Micah said bitterly. "She was killed by Morzan, first and last of the Forsworn."

"Why?" Aletheia asked softly.

"She was very important to the Varden and to the old Riders," Micah said. "She was the only human to be allowed to make swords for the Riders in Ellesmera."

"That's not the only reason," her mother added quietly.

"Uncle Bormir was a Dragon Rider," Mandall said. "Galbatorix wanted everyone associated with the old Riders to be killed."

"Uncle Bormir was a Rider?" Aletheia exclaimed. "Why didn't he have his dragon here?"

"Because she was killed in the slaughter of the Riders," Mandall said sadly. "Which was before he came here."

"But, Uncle Bormir couldn't have been a Rider," Aletheia said, confused.

"Why not?" Micah asked.

"Because, if there's one thing I was taught, it was the names of the past Riders," she said. "There wasn't a Rider by the name of Bormir."

"No, you're right," Mandall said, nodding his head. "Uncle Bormir went by a different name."

Aletheia looked at her father expectantly.

"He was called Brom."

* * *

So? Please review!

I'll try to start on chapter five this weekend.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine. Not mine. Thanks.

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys are awesome. Thanks for sticking with me: )

This chapter is all information.

* * *

Chapter 5 

"There wasn't a Rider by the name of Bormir."

"No, you're right," Mandall said, nodding his head. "Uncle Bormir went by a different name."

Aletheia looked at her father expectantly.

"He was called Brom."

* * *

"Brom?" Aletheia repeated incredulously, her eyes widening. "Are you telling me that my Uncle Bormir is the Rider who killed Morzan?" 

"Yes," her father answered tiredly.

"He killed Morzan to avenge my mother's death," Micah said quietly, looking down at his hands.

Aletheia just sat in the wooden chair, letting everything sink in. Her eyes glazed over as she digested the fact that her Uncle was the one who killed the first and last of the Forsworn!

"Theia?"

Aletheia looked up to see her family staring at her.

"Sorry," she mumbled, before regaining her composure. "What was Uncle's dragon's name?"

"Her name was Saphira," her father said. "She was a beautiful dragon – one of the most gorgeous dragons I had ever lay eyes on."

"You said Uncle was ambushed …," Aletheia supplied, trailing off.

Her father took a deep breath before beginning. "When your Uncle left, we had to cut off all contact with him. It was impossible to meet each other without arousing suspicion. However, a year ago, I heard a faint voice in my head and I was alarmed at first because no one had ever contacted me mentally except for the dragons – it was Brom, on the brink of death. He told me that he only had a few minutes left in his life and he told me that I needed to tell you soon about him and your destiny.

Mandall paused, as a tear slipped from his eye. "He was killed by Urgals. They were tracking him and a couple of fellow travelers that he would not name. He only said 'they, along with you, hold the key for the salvation of Alagaesia'. He then took his last breath of life and died."

When her father finished, the room was quiet as the grave. The only noise that could be heard was the soft rumbling of the dragons sleeping outside.

Dreading the answer to her question, Aletheia asked, "What is my destiny?"

Mandall's sorrowful eyes transformed into determined resolve at her question. "Your destiny is to help the Varden bring down Galbatorix and his Empire. I told you when you received your egg that the purpose was to protect the people of Alagaesia, I was only revealing a small part of the burden that you now share with us," he said, indicating her family.

Aletheia didn't understand the seriousness of her father's tone. "But, we have four dragons, the Empire has, well, one. Shouldn't it be easy to defeat him?" she said, implying Murtagh and his red dragon.

Her mother shook her head. "No, Theia. The King also has a dragon, named Shruikan. Together, they form a deadly bond. Whoever has stood in their path to power has died a merciless death. Galbatorix is the most powerful Rider in all of Alagaesia. Having four dragons with us will help, yes. But in order to bring him down, we must be stronger both in magic and in physical strength."

At this, Mandall revealed a small smile. "But, my dear, we do not have four dragons on our side," he said. "We have five." Marissa, her mother, looked up, startled.

"Gunther told me yesterday that there is another dragon and rider on our side," he said. "It seems that the horse I bought from the trader in Teirm was Brom's horse – and the followers he alluded to were a dragon and a rider."

Aletheia looked at her mother. Marissa's eyes were brimming with tears. "He succeeded?"

Her father nodded his head. He then looked at Aletheia, who was looking inquiringly at her mother. "Your Uncle was sent on a mission by the Varden long ago – that's why he left when you were three, Theia. He told us of the mission, but we never knew the outcome due to our lack of communication. It wasn't until Gunther told me he read the memories of Snowfire and saw a blue dragon and a rider in Brom's care."

"What was the mission?" Aletheia asked.

"He was sent to attempt to steal the dragon eggs from Galbatorix. But Galbatorix kept the eggs separate so that if anyone tried to steal the eggs, they'd have to prowl the entire castle to find all three eggs. So I'm assuming that he only got one egg," her father said.

"There is hope!" Aletheia said, a broad grin spreading across her lips.

Her father nodded. "But you and Tearlach still have much to learn."

Aletheia nodded her understanding. _How exciting! We are going to battle against the King of Alagaesia for the freedom of the people! We're going to leave this horrible forest!_

"What happens now?" Micah asked, interrupting Aletheia's jubilant thoughts.

"We must leave," Mandall said, standing up from the table. "We will leave tomorrow morning for Surda. Rumors from Teirm say that the Varden are stationed in the capital, Aberon. We cannot stay here. I fear Galbatorix will come for us once his Rider returns empty handed."

As soon as everyone had stood from the table, they heard a growl outside.

Tearlach immediately contacted her.

_Theia! We're being watched!_

She relayed the message to her father.

Mandall nodded curtly, before unsheathing his sword at his side – he never relieved himself of his sword. He walked outside swiftly, after murmuring, "Pack lightly and swiftly, we leave tonight."

Aletheia and her cousin both ran into their bedrooms. She took her leather sack from a hook on her door and began packing everything. Including, the fairth of her and Brom, Tearlach's still glittering egg shells from when he had hatched almost 5 years ago, some clothes and a necklace her mother had given to her as a small child. When she ran back into the kitchen, her father came in, wiping off his bloody sword.

"It was an Urgal," he said, angrily. "I assumed that we were being watched after your little encounter with that Red Rider, but I never thought Galbatorix would send that blubbering hunk of flesh to watch us." He looked up and saw everyone packed.

"Let's go. We cannot linger here," he said.

Aletheia looked at her mom, wanting her to give her a reassuring smile. Her mother complied, giving her a small smile, as she readjusted her pack of food and supplies on both of her shoulders. She noticed her mom had her glittering silver sword at her side – something Aletheia had never seen before, since her mother never wore her sword; Aletheia hadn't even seen her mother fight with her sword. Trying to reassure herself, Aletheia followed her family out of her childhood home, out into the cold forest.

As soon as she was outside, she ran to the side of the house and brought Tearlach's saddle to his side. As she was buckling the last strap under his belly, her father cleared his throat behind her.

"As we head South, I want you to ride Snowfire," he said. "We will sell him and Myra during our stop in Teirm."

She nodded, as Tearlach gave an unsatisfied snort, blowing smoke at her father.

_He is a noble steed. But not noble enough to carry you._

Aletheia smiled, rubbing Tearlach's snout.

_We will ride together after we leave Teirm._

_Good._

Aletheia secured her pack onto Tearlach's saddle, before walking over to Snowfire. He was already saddled as she stroked his neck.

"I hope you're ready for another long journey, my friend," she said.

He nickered in response. Aletheia mounted the snow white horse and nodded towards Tearlach to follow her out of the forest. As she turned around to take one last look at her childhood home, she saw her father extend his right arm and heard him yell, "Boetq istalri!" Large blue flames shot from his right palm onto their house. Tears sprang to her eyes as she saw the only place she knew explode in flames.

She turned back around in Snowfire's saddle, facing her destiny.

* * *

Two days later, Aletheia found herself in Teirm. Aletheia and her father had ridden into town on Snowfire and Myra to find buyers for the two horses. It was a dingy town and hardly anyone walked about the streets. Her eyes drank in the sight of the few people who did walk the streets. Their ragged clothing hung off their slim bodies, showing the town's poverty. Her initial excitement at finally venturing out of the Spine was dulled by the realization that things might've been better for them than for the people who lived out of the Spine. 

Before they had gone into the town, her father had given her a dark cloak to wrap around herself in order to conceal her sword and a small dagger in her boot. She was also given an alias: Marina. He had explained the disguise as "necessary. Galbatorix will probably issue a warrant for your arrest."

As the horses walked slowly through the town, Aletheia kept her head down, trying not to draw any attention to her or her father.

Her father suddenly held out his hand, telling her to stop. She found herself in front of a tiny stable beside a house. Mandall dismounted Myra and walked up to a man. It seemed as if her father knew the man, for her father had clapped the man on the shoulder in a brotherly way. As he talked to the man about the horses, Aletheia busied herself with Snowfire's mane.

"Alright Marina, off you get," her father said, helping her down. She was about to open her mouth to tell him she could dismount on her own, but he silenced her with a look.

_Don't give yourself away. Just because I know him, doesn't mean I trust him. Act like you know nothing about riding._

She mentally nodded and walked away from Snowfire. Her stomach tightened as she saw her father hand the reigns of Snowfire and Myra to the other man. After they had sold the horses, they went to the butcher's shop and bought some meat for the dragons, as they would not be able to hunt much during their travel.

Once out of Teirm, they walked to a deep slope in a hill and saw the dragons waiting for them.

As they walked towards the dragons, Aletheia asked, "how are we getting to Surda?"

"We will be flying directly above the Toark River, which runs straight through the Spine. Once we make out of the Spine, we will fly between Uru'bean and Helgrind." He father answered shortly. It was obvious he did not like the path they were taking.

"Between Uru'bean and Helgrind?" her mother inquired sharply. "It's too dangerous!"

"Yes, it is dangerous, but it's the quickest way," he said curtly. "Let's go. We must make haste."

Over the next two days, they traveled over the Spine. They would make periodic stops for a drink of water along the Toark River or for a brief rest. Mandall was very intent on getting out of the Spine and out into the open as soon as possible. He made sure they flew just below the clouds, so any people would think the dragons were mere birds. Once they were out of the Spine, according to Mandall, they would take longer rests and breaks. During those breaks, he and Marissa would train Aletheia and Tearlach.

On the fifth day of their journey, they were coming within five miles of Helgrind.That night, Aletheia sat by the fire, eating with her cousin and mother. The four dragons rested on the side, gnawing on their meat. Her father walked up to her and handed her sword to her.

"We're going to spar," he said. She sighed, standing up.

She blocked her blade as her father had taught her long ago and took a battle stance. They looked at each other for several seconds, before her father attacked. He ran towards her with his blade raised, and as she went to block his swing, he instead kicked her feet out from underneath her. He put his blade to her throat.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be prepared for a sudden change in attack?" he said crossly.

Frustrated that he had beaten her in under 5 seconds, she pushed the blade from her neck and stood up, facing her father again.

This time, she attacked first. She found that when she took the offensive first, she always got the upper-hand against him – but she had never defeated him. Determined to win, she attacked her father with a sudden ferocity she didn't know she had. As she swung her blade at his shoulder, he blocked it easily, responding with a sharp rap on her knees. She growled and spun in place bringing her sword down on his arm, he barely blocked that swing. She grinned inside as she continued to push her father back. _I'm winning! _She said triumphantly. But as she backed him up farther from the fire, she didn't notice a stone in her path that her father stepped over. She tripped, just as she had with Murtagh, allowing her father to put his blade in her face.

He lowered his sword slowly, shaking his head as he walked back towards the fire. He beckoned her to him.

"I know what your problem is, Theia," he said as she sat next to him on the ground. She looked expectantly at him.

"It's not your technique," he said, staring into the fire. "Heaven knows you have excellent swordsmanship. It's not your lack of determination or stamina." He paused and turned to her. "It's your ego."

Aletheia blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Time and time again, you are so close to overpowering me, and yet, you fail because you become too confident," he said. "I could see it in your eyes as you pushed me farther and farther. Your eyes held a proud gleam. You knew you were going to win so you became overconfident and your concentration on your surroundings waned. That's why you were captured by Murtagh and that's why you have never defeated me."

Aletheia felt like she had been slapped in the face. "My ego?" She shook her head as she turned from her father.

She heard her father sigh. "Go practice with your mother. You and I are finished for tonight." She nodded as she pushed herself off the ground walked to her mother.

That night, her mother taught her more about reserving her energy. She had also learned more about taking energy from her surroundings. Aletheia found this aspect of training calming. She loved learning about nature and how it can benefit her in battle.

She sat, cross-legged, on the ground across from her mother. She closed her eyes, letting the tranquility of the night take over her. The only sound she could hear was the crackling of the fire. Aletheia reached out into the darkness, concentrating on a nearby bird. It was flying back to its nest with several glistening worms in its beak. She watched it land beside three little birds. Aletheia smiled as she felt the mother's love for the babies spill through her consciousness – it was a love that was unconditional and ever-lasting. She knew immediately that she was feeling and witnessing the same love that her mother had for her.

She then realized: love was universal – it wasn't a human emotion. As she opened her eyes, she saw her mom smiling at her proudly.

"What did you see?" he mother asked.

So, Aletheia told her about the birds and her sudden revelation.

Her mother nodded. "Birds feel it, dragons feel it, humans feel it," she said. "Even Galbatorix has felt it."

Aletheia stared at her mom for a moment, before her mother smiled softly at her.

"Go practice the Rimgar," she said, waving her off. "I want you to start on the fourth level tonight."

Aletheia nodded as she walked to the side to begin. She spent over an hour practicing the new forms – or, rather, trying to stay balanced long enough to completely form a pose.

When Aletheia had asked her mother where she learned the Rimgar, she had said that she learned this from her previous master: Rider Oromis. Marissa was an expert at the Rimgar. Her expertise gave Aletheia the determination to master the Rimgar just like her mom.

As she lay next to Tearlach that night, she sighed heavily, glad the day was over.

_You did well tonight, little one_.

_Thanks. Although tomorrow I hope I can show father that I'm really better than I was tonight._

Tearlach merely hummed deeply as he laid his beautiful head on the ground, closing his eyes.

_We'll be in the realm of Surda within a week_, Aletheia said absently.

_Yes, young one_.

_I'm scared_. She said softly. _What if I fail the Varden? What if I'm not good enough?_

_You'll be fine, Theia. I believe in you, your parents and Micah believe in you, and your Uncle Brom believes in you_.

Aletheia nodded, leaning her head against Tearlach's warm side.

As she closed her eyes, she felt butterflies in her stomach.

Her destiny awaited her in Aberon.

* * *

7 ½ pages. Okay, to me, that's long. Lol.

Please review!

Oh and sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I've been really busy with school.

Next chapter: they arrive in Aberon.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: Wow, so, I only got one review for the last chapter. So, thank you untamedspiral : ). Reviews are what keep me motivated to keep writing! So PLEASE review; Even if you have constructive criticism for me. Reviews are MUCH appreciated.

So, here's Chapter 6. I hope it's better than Chapter 5.

* * *

Chapter 6

The next evening Aletheia and her father spared again. This time, Aletheia kept her mind in check and concentrated on the battle AND her surroundings. She found it hard at first and kept getting sharp raps on her knees and sides from her father, but after the fourth sparring session, concentrating came easier to her.

An hour later, Aletheia collapsed on the dirt ground beside her cousin, Micah. She was exhausted, but extremely happy.

"I'm impressed," he commented, not looking up from his soup. "You finally managed to beat him."

She grinned from ear-to-ear and nodded before picking up a spare bowl from beside the fire and pouring some soup for herself.

That night, despite the many deep bruises she had to heal, she went to sleep, finally content with herself.

* * *

As they ventured closer to the plains between Helgrind and Uru'bean, Mandall became stricter concerning their breaks. He pushed the dragons to their limits, making them fly all day with only three hour breaks during the night. When Aletheia began complaining about her lack of sleep, her father merely reprimanded her and said "you can sleep in Tearlach's saddle." The last thing they wanted was to be confronted by the Red Rider and quite possibly Galbatorix himself. As they flew passed Helgrind, Aletheia felt a dark shadow cross her consciousness. It lingered in her mind until they were out of the menacing stare of the dark plains.

After they passed between Helgrind and Uru'bean, Aletheia felt an enormous weight lifted off her shoulders. Her father also eased up on them, letting them take more breaks. But after her initial elation at being able to get out of Tearlach's saddle was over, she realized that the breaks wouldn't be used for leisure time. Aletheia and her father had used almost all of their breaks as a time for training. Micah and Aletheia's mother would step in periodically and give her short lessons on magic or new sword techniques. Tearlach was also kept busy by Gunther and Anassa's training.

On the tenth day of their journey, they had passed between Melian and Furnost. At this point, they were two days away from reaching Aberon. When notified of this, Aletheia's heart leapt into her throat – out of nervousness or excitement, she didn't know. She was still concerned about how she'd measure up to the Varden's Blue Rider and how the Varden would receive her family.

Two days later, Aberon was in sight.

_Look at it, Tearlach! The castle is beautiful!_

_It is._ He said absently.

_What's wrong?_

_Nothing._

She scowled slightly at his dismissal of his lack of enthusiasm. She had noticed over the passed few days that Tearlach had become increasingly anxious as they neared Aberon. But she had thought this was merely nerves of being revealed to the Varden.

_Tearlach, talk to me. You seem distracted._

_I'm just nervous._

_What for?_

He didn't respond for several seconds. _Because, the blue dragon is a female._

She furrowed her eyebrows at this, trying to figure out what he meant. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

_You're nervous about what she'll think of you?_

_Yes._

She laughed at this, causing him to growl at her_. It's not funny. Don't you know what this could mean for me?_

_No. _she said, honestly.

_She could be my mate._

Aletheia blinked. She had never thought about her dragon having a mate. _It would be good for him_, she said to herself. Aletheia smiled, scratching his glittering orange scales. _She'll love you, Tearlach. I guarantee it._

He hummed, rustling his beautiful scales. _I hope so._

As they neared Aberon's castle, Aletheia suddenly thought of something. _Will I have someone who I can love and who will love me back? _The thought troubled her_. Maybe this Blue Rider will be the one? _She shook herself out of her reverie as her father shouted to her over the whistling wind.

"Theia! Descend!" he yelled, pointing towards the ground.

She nodded, telling Tearlach to land. But before they even started to descend, a stream of arrows came careening towards them. Aletheia screamed, as Tearlach veered right and left, evading each arrow. He growled menacingly at the soldiers in front of the castle.

_We're friends_! He said angrily.

_Yes, but they don't know that_. She said hurriedly.

As Tearlach descended further, more arrows came towards the four dragons. Tearlach once again evaded them, but Adelbert, her cousin's dragon wasn't so lucky. He roared in pain as several arrows pierced his wings. Aletheia snapped her head toward her cousin and saw him trying to calm Adelbert. She told Tearlach to fly close to Adelbert, so he could land safely.

The four dragons made it to the ground, about 100 yards away from the soldiers as the soldiers raised their bows to issue another round of arrows. Aletheia quickly glanced at her cousin and saw him healing Adelbert's wings.

Aletheia bowed her head and Tearlach tucked his wings to his side in preparation for the onslaught, but she heard someone shout.

"STOP!"

She looked up and saw a gorgeous sapphire dragon with a rider on her back flying towards them. The dragon landed in front of the soldiers and she growled dangerously at Aletheia and her family. The Blue rider had his full body armor on, so Aletheia couldn't see his face. But she could hear his voice as plain as day.

"Who are you?" he called.

Mandall stepped forward from beside Gunther and held up his hand. Although the Blue Rider's face was concealed, Aletheia could tell he was surprised, for he jerked his head back in shock.

"Brom?" he asked.

Her father shook his head. "No, I am Mandall, brother of Brom."

The Rider didn't move after her father spoke.

"We have come from deep within the trees of the Spine. We are friends of the Varden," her father said loudly in the Ancient Language.

Aletheia could see the soldiers moving restlessly behind the Rider. They were whispering to each other, while still aiming their arrows at the mysterious group.

The Rider nodded before holding his hand out to his side, telling the soldiers to lower their bows. He slid off his dragon's saddle and began walking towards them. As he came up to Mandall, he took off his helm. Aletheia gasped. _He was beautiful!_

Tearlach snorted at her revelation. But she ignored him. She scanned Eragon's face and body. _He looked exactly like an elf! But, he couldn't be. His ears were pointed slightly and his eyes were sharp and piercing like an elf. But his body wasn't as slender as theirs and his walk wasn't as graceful as theirs either._ She could feel her heartbeat quicken.

"I am Eragon," he said, bowing his head. "This is my dragon, Saphira."

Mandall bowed his head in return. "I am pleased to meet the young man who loyally traveled beside my brother."

Aletheia's mother walked up to the two and introduced herself. "My name is Marissa, I am Mandall's wife," she said. Then she beckoned Micah and Aletheia to her. "This is my daughter, Aletheia and my nephew, Micah."

Eragon let his eyes pass over Aletheia, as she quickly tucked her brown hair behind her ears, and gave her a smooth nod before turning his gaze toward Micah.

"Your nephew?" he asked Marissa slowly.

Micah nodded. "I am Brom's son."

Eragon took a small step back in surprise.

"Eragon, we have traveled far," Mandall said. "We must speak to the leader of the Varden."

Eragon nodded. "Come with me. I will bring you to Lady Nasuada."

Aletheia walked back to Tearlach and put her hand on his side. "Let's go."

As they walked behind Eragon and Saphira, Tearlach held his head up high, periodically rustling his scales proudly. Aletheia had to stuff her fist in her mouth to keep from laughing.

_I don't appreciate your snickering, Theia_. Tearlach said indignantly.

Aletheia merely snorted in return.

_You can laugh. But I distinctly remember feeling your nervousness about meeting a certain Rider_. He said. She could hear the laughter in his voice. _Oh, and what about, 'he's beautiful!_' Aletheia blushed deeply, before giggling softly.

At this, Saphira brought her head around to look at Aletheia. Immediately, Aletheia straightened and tried unsuccessfully to display a blank façade. Before Saphira turned around, Aletheia could've sworn she had seen a flash of a grin come from the dragon.

Aletheia froze. _Do you think she heard us?_

Tearlach shook his head. _No_. But he didn't sound too convincing.

Aletheia sighed, trying to ignore that uncomfortable knot that was forming in the pit of her stomach. _That's just what I need. They won't take me seriously._

Aletheia shook her head and quickened her pace behind Saphira. She hadn't noticed that they had already crossed the threshold into the castle of Aberon. She expected to see people walking around, but apparently the path Eragon and Saphira were leading them on wasn't very populated; there wasn't a person to be seen. Instead, Aletheia looked at the occasional lavish tapestry that would grace the otherwise boring and sterile stone walls. The windows that littered the walls were small but still allowed the bright sun to flood through, lighting the hallway.

Aletheia wondered why they were taking a deserted hallway (which seemed to be made to fit dragons the size of Gunther) instead of a more populated area.

_They probably don't want to excite the people in the castle until they know exactly why we're here._ Tearlach supplied.

Aletheia nodded.

As the hallway ended, Aletheia found herself in a grand hall with sky-high ceilings. There were several servants and guards bustling around the hall, casting both nervous and excited glances at the newcomers.

Eragon and Saphira stopped and indicated a huge wooden door in front of them.

"We will show you to Lady Nasuada. She has already been alerted of your presence. As well as King Orrin," he said.

Mandall walked passed Aletheia with Gunther right behind him.

"I wish to speak with them alone," he said, glancing slightly at Aletheia and Micah.

"What?" she exclaimed. "We traveled all this way and you want to keep Micah and I out of an important meeting?"

"Theia, you will learn when to hold your tongue," her father snapped. She bowed her head in shame and embarrassment. She glanced at Eragon and saw him looking at her.

"Mandall, she's right," her mother said, putting a hand on his arm. "She has as much right to be in there as I do."

Her father sighed heavily. "Very well."

Eragon nodded and asked a soldier to tell Lady Nasuada that they were waiting on her.

The solider disappeared behind the colossal door for a few moments before reappearing.

"She will see you," the soldier said, stepping aside to let the Rider into the council room.

Aletheia stepped into the dimly lit room and saw a long oak table in the middle of the room with twelve chairs. A young lady was sitting in a chair at the far end of the table. She had dark skin and black hair and was extremely pretty. At their entrance, the woman stood up and walked gracefully to them, bowing her head in respect. A man walked up beside her and did the same. He looked a little older than the lady and he had early greys streaking his hair and short beard.

"My name is Lady Nasuada, I am the Leader of the Varden," she said in a silky voice.

"I am Orrin, King of Surda," he said, his mature voice rumbling lowly.

Mandall introduced Micah, Aletheia and his wife to the nobilities.

"I must say, we are intensely curious as to your purpose for coming here," Orrin said, indicating for everyone to sit down. Aletheia found her place next to her cousin. Eragon sat across from her, but looked directly at King Orrin.

"We have come to aid the Varden in the fight against the Empire," Mandall stated.

King Orrin couldn't hide his excited grin. Lady Nasuada's lips curled into a small smile.

"I am curious," she said, leaning forward, "how did you come across four dragons?"

And so, Mandall launched into the story about Oromis and Vrael giving them the last two dragon eggs from their dragon. He told them about the two dragons giving birth to two more eggs, Tearlach and Adelbert, and how they were trained by Oromis and Vrael in the ways of the Riders so they could one day aid the Varden.

"Why reveal yourselves now?" Eragon asked.

Mandall glanced at Eragon with stern eyes before saying, "we had an unfortunate confrontation with the Empire's Red Rider."

Eragon visibly stiffened at this.

"My daughter, Aletheia, and her dragon, Tearlach, went flying during the day. They were eventually captured by the Red Rider, who calls himself Murtagh. However, we intercepted them and rescued them. We knew as soon as we got back that we were being watched. That was how the Red Rider knew where we were," he said.

"Why did he capture you, Aletheia?" he asked, looking at her.

Her voice shook as she spoke for the first time in front of the two leaders of the resistance and Eragon. "He said Galbatorix wanted me to fight for him and unite Alagaesia under one banner."

Eragon's jaw tightened and he sat back, his eyes boring holes into the table.

"But why would he only want to capture you?" Orrin asked.

"I'm assuming he believed she was more susceptible to outside influence at the time," Mandall said quietly. "She was very unaware about what awaited her outside of the Spine and I believe Galbatorix wanted to take advantage of her naivety."

"Galbatorix is aware of four more dragons aiding the Varden, I'm assuming," Nasuada said, sighing.

"Yes. The Red Rider saw all of us when we rescued Theia," he said. "A mistake I realized too late."

Nasuada nodded. "Well, the good absolutely outweighs the bad," she said, smiling widely. "But I would like to see these two in action," she said, indicating Micah and Aletheia.

"It can wait until tomorrow, my lady," King Orrin said, standing up. "They have traveled far and they are weary." Nasuada nodded her understanding.

Orrin clapped his hands together twice and a little girl came walking in.

"This young lady will show each of you to your rooms," he said jovially. "The dragons have their own lofts not too far from here. I believe Saphira would be glad to show the four dragons to their areas."

Aletheia gave Tearlach a playful mental nudge.

"By the way, I never caught their names," Orrin said.

Aletheia spoke up. "My dragon is Tearlach, he is the orange one," she said, pointing to him. "My father's is Gunther, the black dragon and his mate, my mother's, is Anassa, the silver one."

"And mine is the green dragon, Adelbert," Micah said.

Orrin smiled. "Well met, noble dragons."

Each of the four dragons bowed their heads.

"Well, I don't want to keep you," Nasuada said, standing up. "You will find more than enough food in your rooms."

As they turned towards the doors, with the little girl in the lead, Nasuada called to them:

"Tomorrow, we would like to introduce you to the people of Aberon, if you are willing."

Mandall nodded. "We are willing."

"Good," she said. "Oh and I would like to see Aletheia and Micah spar with Eragon tomorrow." With that, she walked to the back of the room and disappeared behind a small door.

As they followed the little girl to their rooms, Aletheia began getting nervous about tomorrow. Not at being introduced to so many people, but because she would be sparing with Eragon.

She bid Tearlach goodnight and watched him follow Saphira, with a smirk on her face.

_Be good_, she called to him through their link.

He turned his head towards her as he walked and gave her a wolfish grin.

She shook her head and continued behind the little girl.

_He better not try anything foolish_, she said to herself, closing the door behind her with a snap.

* * *

A/N: Yay! They're finally in Aberon!

Oh, and I know some of you don't like the direction of Aletheia's affections. I have yet to decide on the pairings, so any opinions are welcome.

And PLEASE review!


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this, except for my original characters. Have a good day.

A/N: Okay, so Chapter 6 was definitely an improvement as far as reviews go. Thanks guys! So, I decided to make this chapter a tiny bit longer than the others! (I told you reviews motivate me! lol)

Here's chapter 7. Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning, Aletheia awoke to the morning sun spilling through the opened balcony doors. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she sat up in the soft bed and had to do a double take of her room. She had forgotten how big and elegant her room was. She had been so tired last night that as soon as she shut her door, she flung herself on the plush bed and fell sound asleep. In result, she hadn't seen her room. Elegant purple embroideries hung loosely on the stone walls and a gold-bordered mirror was settled on her dark wood vanity across the room.

Aletheia peeled the covers back and swung her pale legs over the bed. She looked at the balcony and saw the sheer drapes blowing softly with the gentle breeze. Smiling to herself, she walked over to a wooden vanity and checked her appearance. Her smile slipped off her face and was replaced with an unsatisfied grimace – she was a mess! Her hair was sticking up and her skin was blotchy.

"All that flying did a number on my appearance," she said aloud. She glanced down and saw a fresh pair of black pants and a black tunic draped over a chair with a note.

_My lady,_

_I took the liberty of bringing you a new pair of pants and a tunic. Once I know your measurements, I can start on your full wardrobe. _

_Yours,_

_Your handmaiden, Maria_

Aletheia blinked several times. _I have a handmaiden? _She shrugged before going in the washroom attached to her room.

An hour later, Aletheia emerged from her room, strapping her sword to her side. She started walking down the hallway towards where she assumed her parents were staying.

"Aletheia!"

She turned to her right and saw her cousin, Micah, walking swiftly towards her.

"Theia, we're supposed to be down in the dining hall for a breakfast with Lady Nasuada and King Orrin before we spar," he said, grabbing her arm, attempting to hurry her along.

"Where are the dragons?" she asked, hurrying alongside Micah.

"They're down in the dragonhold with Saphira," he said. "We'll see them this afternoon."

Within five minutes, they had arrived in the dining hall. As they walked in, Aletheia noticed, with a blush, that they were apparently the last ones to arrive.

She smiled meekly at her mother, before settling next to her. Micah went to sit next to Eragon.

"Sorry, mother," she said, folding her napkin in her lap.

"It's quite alright, Theia," her mother said sweetly. "We didn't want to wake you."

Aletheia looked down the table and saw Eragon and Micah talking quietly. Her mother noticed Aletheia's stare and said, "they have a lot to talk about."

Aletheia nodded before Lady Nasuada sat across from her and cleared her throat.

"Good morning, everyone," she said. "I trust that your night was comfortable?"

Aletheia's parents nodded in agreement as several people came in, carrying silver platters of food. Aletheia's stomach growled loudly as she realized she hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning.

Lady Nasuada heard her stomach and smiled softly at her. Aletheia returned her smile before helping herself to some eggs and bacon.

Breakfast was a nice affair, giving Aletheia the chance to speak with Nasuada. She learned that Nasuada was only two years older than her, which surprised her. She also learned that Nasuada had taken the leadership of the Varden after her father, Ajihad, had been killed almost a year ago.

Aletheia found that she and Nasuada had a lot in common as well. They were both very skilled in battle and they both had to carry heavy responsibilities at a young age. Aletheia felt her spirits lift after they ended their conversation. She had found someone her age that she could talk to – a friend!

"Since everyone has eaten, I would like to see Aletheia and Micah spar with Eragon," Nasuada said loudly.

At this, Aletheia felt her spirits fall slightly. _Great. I have the opportunity to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone._

Nasuada stood and beckoned everyone to follow her to the sparing hall.

* * *

Micah went first. Aletheia stood on the sidelines as she watched both Micah and Eragon block their blades and take on their battle stances. She glanced at Eragon's sword and noticed his sword was a brilliant sapphire blue that glimmered with the sun's light. The hilt was a gorgeous silver and it was in the shape of a dragon. It also had a deep sapphire stone at the end of the pommel.

She watched as Micah attacked first. Eragon stepped back to block the high swing at his head. The blue and green blades crashed together, the sparks causing the two fighters to wince slightly at the bright illumination. Micah danced back quickly as Eragon took a strong swipe at his shins, missing by inches. Eragon spun in place swinging his sapphire blade at Micah's stomach, but Micah blocked that easily. Micah then issued as series of intense blows at Eragon, which he blocked with obvious difficulty.

Aletheia felt her mouth gaping open as she watched the battle. She had never seen Micah fight so fiercely – not even against her father! It was obvious her cousin considered Eragon his equal and would not take it easy on him – seeing as he had been trained by Micah's father, who was one of the best swordsmen of all time. She noticed that they had similar styles as well. They would parry the other person's blows with the same blocks and they attacked the same, but Eragon had a different foot technique. He was more graceful on his feet than Micah. However, it was obvious they tired at the same rate, too. Eragon was visibly tiring after thirty minutes of intense fighting and so was Micah.

As Micah swung his emerald blade in a graceful arc, Eragon brought his sapphire blade to meet Micah's attack with a powerful swing. As their blades clashed, they held their blades against each other, trying to beat the other person with strength instead of skill. Their faces were scrunched in pain and concentration. Then, as one, they both dropped their blades, panting fiercely.

Aletheia looked around at her parents and saw them looking proudly at Micah and Eragon. Nasuada looked at Eragon and then at Micah. Her gaze lingered shortly on Micah before she smiled.

"That was exceptional!" she exclaimed, walking forward.

Eragon grinned. "It's obvious that we acquired our skills from brothers."

Micah nodded, clapping Eragon on his shoulder. "My father taught you well."

"And your Uncle taught you well," Eragon said, glancing at Mandall as he walked towards them.

"Eragon, I am curious as to who else taught you," Mandall said.

"Master Oromis trained me in Ellesmera," Eragon said proudly.

"Ah, yes, that's where I remember that foot technique from," Mandall said fondly. "Master Oromis was always light on his feet."

Eragon nodded.

"Eragon, are you ready for another duel?" King Orrin asked.

Eragon took a deep breath before nodding. He looked at Aletheia and smiled as she walked forward.

"Don't look too nervous," he teased, noticing her serious expression.

She nodded in return, trying to give him a small smile. But it came out as more of a grimace. He chuckled softly, taking his battle stance across from her as she blocked her orange blade.

She sighed deeply as she brought her sword in front of her and took her battle stance. As she watched Eragon, she realized he wasn't going to attack first. She felt a rush of annoyance flood through her veins mixed with gratitude.

He knew that she wanted to prove herself and was dreading being embarrassed in front of everyone. So he waited for her to make the first move. And she did.

Aletheia came towards him with her blade raised. She spun gracefully as she brought her sword down to meet Eragon's. As he blocked her blow underhandedly, she immediately knew that their styles were completely different. Eragon responded by swinging his blade at her side. She parried the blow easily and danced back lightly. Eragon followed her and stabbed at her stomach. She twisted to the right as Eragon's blade narrowly slid passed her stomach. As he brought it back, Aletheia brought her blade around to meet Eragon's with a solid hit. The strength of the blow sent a sharp shock up her right arm and she was satisfied to see by Eragon's reaction that he also experienced a shock in his right arm.

Recovering from the tremor, Eragon swung his blade at her legs, just like he had with Micah. She smiled to herself as she realized Eragon's technique had not changed from his previous duel. Her father had told her that Oromis had used the same technique in every one of his battles. But instead of teaching her Oromis' standard technique, he taught her Vrael's sword skills – which were more spontaneous and unpredictable. She liked Vrael's technique better because he didn't rely on only his sword – he also incorporated hand-to-hand combat.

Aletheia responded to Eragon's swing at her legs, aiming her sword at his neck. As he deflected the blow, she kicked his legs out from underneath him, making him fall flat on his back. As she pointed her sword at his neck, thinking she had won, she let her guard down. She soon realized that was the wrong thing to do, as Eragon kicked her sword out of her hand and jumped up, holding his sword at _her_ neck. She felt her mouth drop open in surprise as she realized she had been defeated.

The room was silent as everyone watched Eragon and Aletheia looking at each other intensely. Aletheia then dropped her stare and Eragon took his sword from her neck.

She felt her stomach twisting with frustration. _I let my guard down! I let my confidence get the best of me!_

"Well done!" King Orrin said, clapping his hands. "What say you, Nasuada?"

Nasuada looked at Aletheia and smiled. "I'd say that we have some very powerful allies now."

Aletheia grinned. She looked at Eragon and saw him grinning at her.

"You did well," he said. "You gave me quite the surprise at the end."

Shelaughed softly. "You did good, too. I shouldn't have let my guard down. You did a good job of taking advantage of that."

Eragon nodded. "You have a different technique than your cousin."

"My father taught me Vrael's fighting style," she said. "He said that Vrael's style suited me better than Oromis'."

"I can see that," he said. He looked away from her and she saw him visibly perk up. She looked where his gaze was and saw the dragons walking in the huge doorway.

She smiled inwardly as she saw Tearlach and Saphira walking side-by-side.

As Tearlach walked up to her, he nuzzled her. Aletheia saw Saphira do the same to Eragon.

_I missed you little one_, he said.

_I missed you, too. Did you behave_? She asked mischievously.

He grinned wolfishly. _Of course._

She nodded, not convinced in the slightest.

_How is she? _Aletheia asked, indicating Saphira.

As soon as she asked this question, she felt his enthusiasm spill through their link.

_She's wonderful, Theia_! He gushed. And so, he raved on about Saphira for the next five minutes.

Finally, she had to stop him. _Okay, okay, I get it. She's perfect in every way, shape and form_. She said jokingly.

He snorted. _Don't make fun_.

_Oh, I would never do that!_ She exclaimed sarcastically, before laughing.

Tearlach nudged her in her side with his head, making her stumble. _We'll see who has the last laugh, Theia.

* * *

_

That afternoon, Aletheia and Tearlach parted ways so that she could spend time with her new handmaiden, Maria, and Tearlach could be with Saphira.

Aletheia walked back to her room and found her handmaiden, Maria, sitting on her bed, playing with the hem of her dress. The girl had long, wavy blonde hair and piercing green eyes. Her porcelain complexion contrasted well with the deep emerald dress she wore. As soon as Aletheia walked in the room, Maria stood from the bed and curtsied.

Aletheia strode forward to meet Maria. "Hi, I'm Aletheia."

Maria smiled timidly. "I'm Maria, milady."

Aletheia inwardly cringed. She hated the formalities.

"Please, just call me Theia," she said. "And you don't have to curtsy. I am no more important than you, Maria."

Maria nodded. "I need to get your measurements so I can start on your wardrobe. I also need to get them for your armor," she said."

"My armor?" Aletheia asked.

"Yes, milady, - er, Theia," Maria corrected herself after Aletheia gave her a look. "You will need battle armor for when Galbatorix's army attacks."

Aletheia nodded. "Of course."

So, while Maria took her measurements, Aletheia took this time to get to know Maria.

Maria was sixteen and had lived in Aberon all her life. But when her parents became too poor to provide for her, they sent her to Aberon castle to be a handmaiden for the ladies of the court when she was just nine. Her parents passed away just two years ago. But not before her older sister, Cadhla, disappeared from Aberon. She spoke very highly of her sister and was noticeably upset about her disappearance. So, Aletheia decided to change the subject.

When asked if she liked her duty as a handmaiden, Maria enthusiastically nodded her head.

"I love it here," she said, wrapping the measuring tape around Aletheia's waist. "I am well fed, I am treated very well and they have even trained me for battle."

"So are you going to fight in the battle against the Empire?" Aletheia asked.

"Oh yes," Maria said feverishly. "Ever since I was a little girl and my parents told my sister and I about how Galbatorix oppresses his people, I have wanted to help the Varden. I tried to join the army here, but they won't allow women to join," she said bitterly. "So, with that in mind, my parents sent me to the castle when they could no longer afford to keep me. They knew that every woman in the castle would be trained in self defense and swordsmanship."

Aletheia turned to allow Maria to measure her hips. She mentally shook her head as she thought about a woman's inability to fight for her hometown. She then felt extremely lucky to have the opportunity to be a Rider.

"Alright milady, you're done," Maria said. Aletheia raised her eyebrows humorously at Maria. She giggled before saying, "Excuse me – Theia."

"That's better," Aletheia said, plopping down on her bed.

Maria walked to a wardrobe by the door and opened the oak doors to reveal a dark crimson dress on a hanger. She brought it out and laid it next to Aletheia.

"This is the dress you are supposed to wear tonight," Maria said.

"Are you coming?" Aletheia asked hopefully. She wanted someone to talk to tonight.

Maria nodded. "Yes. I am to accompany you throughout your stay here, Theia."

Aletheia smiled broadly before looking down at her dress. She let her hand pass over the red crushed velvet. The v-neck collar was lined with gold accents and there was a gold v-shaped lining on the waist of the dress. But she frowned, noticing something.

"Er, Maria?" she inquired.

"Yes?"

"How am I supposed to fit into this?" she asked, indicating the ridiculously small middle section of the dress.

Maria stifled a laugh. "You are going to wear a corset tonight, Theia."

Aletheia visibly cringed. "Oh no! I've heard they're dreadfully uncomfortable."

Maria nodded. "They can be."

Aletheia shook her head. "I can't believe this."

"They're not that bad once you get used to them. I have to wear one, too," Maria said, a smile playing at her lips.

"So what exactly is tonight about?" Aletheia asked as she went into the washroom to pour steaming hot water into a bathtub.

"Lady Nasuada and King Orrin want to present you and your family to the people of Aberon," Maria said, busying herself around Aletheia's room. "The people of Aberon have needed some good news after a new rider surfaced from the Empire in the last battle."

"There was a battle?" Aletheia exclaimed.

Maria nodded. "Oh yes, it was a huge battle at the Burning Plains."

"What happened?" Aletheia asked, sitting on her bed, across from Maria.

"Well, the Red Rider and Eragon dueled. Eragon narrowly escaped with his life," Maria said. "Apparently, the Red Rider fought alongside Eragon and the Varden when the Urgals attacked Farthen Dur almost a year ago. So he betrayed the Varden and Eragon," she said sadly.

"We won, right?" Aletheia asked in awe.

"Yes," Maria answered solemnly. "Galbatorix's armies weren't up to the task of taking on a dozen magic-wielders and our armies. But the dwarves lost their beloved King when the Red Rider killed him."

Aletheia sat gaping at Maria. "He killed the King?"

Maria nodded. At this, Aletheia stood from the bed and ran her hand through her hair.

"I fought him," she mumbled.

"Who?" Maria inquired.

"The Red Rider," she said softly.

Maria looked at Aletheia in surprise. "And you're still alive?"

Aletheia nodded. "His duty wasn't to kill me. It was to capture me – and he succeeded," she said, hanging her head.

"Why would he want to kidnap you?" Maria asked.

"Because, Galbatorix needs more Riders," she said. "He had several spies in the Spine, where my family and I hid with our dragons. So once he found out that there were four more dragons who would not join him, he apparently sent his Red Rider to kidnap me so he could even the odds against him."

Maria just sat on Aletheia's bed gaping at her.

Wanting to get off the painful subject, Aletheia asked, "So, istonight just an introduction ceremony?"

"Oh, no. It's a celebration," Maria said, shaking her head. "There will be music, dancing, and food!"

Aletheia let a broad grin grace her features. "I have never been to a celebration before!"

"Well then tonight will be extra special for you, Theia," Maria said, pushing Aletheia into the washroom. "In the meantime, you need to take a bath. You smell like a boy!"

Aletheia burst out laughing, slapping Maria on her arm. "I do not!"

Maria raised an eyebrow at Aletheia. "You want proof?"

Aletheia shook her head, wrinkling her nose. "No, it's okay."

"Good, now get washed up so we can get some lunch," Maria said, closing the door behind her.

Aletheia dipped her toe into the scalding hot water before yanking it back with a yelp.

"Oh, Theia, the water is extremely hot!" Maria called through the door.

"I noticed," Aletheia mumbled grumpily. She heard Maria giggle outside the door.

"Oh and after lunch, we will get you ready for the celebration," Maria said. "I'll be back soon."

As Aletheia slipped slowly into the water, she cringed at the stinging sensation the hot water left on her legs.

Settlingher head on the tub, she let the water wash over her. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for a night to remember.

* * *

Okay, so, this chapter is more important than you think. I included a small hint that kind of foreshadowed something in the Final Battle – I hope you catch onto it! Hehe. 'Cause it will play a significant part in the last battle.

Review please!


	9. Chapter 8

Okay, so I have decided that I'm going to do review responses now. You guys are awesome, so I'm going to respond to you guys on here.

**Super-hero fan**: Yay! A new reviewer! I'm really glad you like Tearlach/Saphira and the sparring scenes. Those scenes are difficult to write because there are only so many ways you can say that someone is swinging a sword at someone else, lol. Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Miyu Sato-hi**: Thanks for reviewing! Although, I'm keeping my mouth shut on my pairing decisions. Hehe.

**Untamedspiral**: I really appreciate you constantly reviewing my story. I'm glad to see that you like it. : ) As for Eragon's sword: since the story isn't about Eragon, I decided not to make the finding of his sword a big deal. Since you asked, I'll include the answer to your question in this chapter. Besides, I'm sure other people are wondering where he got it, too. Thanks for the suggestion and for reviewing!

**Saucydog**: Hey! Nice to see you again. No, it's not the end of the story. I still have a lot planned. You'll see the Urgals in here soon enough. And, Aletheia and Eragon are almost equals in their fighting skills. Eragon is slightly better. Thanks a lot for reviewing : )

* * *

Chapter 8

"Oh and after lunch, we will get you ready for the celebration," Maria said. "I'll be back soon."

As Aletheia slipped slowly into the water, she cringed at the stinging sensation the hot water left on her legs.

As she settled her head on the tub, letting the water wash over her, she closed her eyes and prepared herself for a night to remember.

* * *

Later that evening, Aletheia and Maria emerged from the room to head down to the Hall. Aletheia could hear a collection of voices grow stronger as they neared the Hall. She gasped slightly as she saw the lavish decorations hanging on the walls. Healthy green ivy hung loosely in masses on the walls with white lilies littering the branches. Long wooden tables were covered in gorgeous white linens and lace and crystal goblets were scattered amongst the tables. Beautiful ivory candles lit the Hall, giving it a tranquil ambiance.

As they walked into the Hall fully, Aletheia stopped abruptly. Eragon was standing with her cousin, apparently in deep conversation. _He looks handsome_! He had on a brown leather tunic, with a low collar and light beige pants with dark brown boots. Maria followed Aletheia's gaze and coughed slightly.

Aletheia blinked and felt herself blush deeply. She tried to think of something to distract Maria. "Er – where is the introduction ceremony being held?" It worked – or so she thought – for Maria pointed towards the main doors.

"The town is gathering outside of the castle as we speak," she said. "Lady Nasuada and King Orrin will be making the introduction on the steps of the castle."

But Aletheia wasn't listening. This was going to be a turning point in her life. Everyone in Aberon would know her name and would depend on her and her family to aid the Varden and Surda in their quest to defeat Galbatorix. It didn't fully hit her until today that she carried an enormous amount of responsibility. At this, she felt the room become stuffy and she began sweating slightly.

_Starting tonight, I will no longer be known as just Aletheia. I will be known as Rider Aletheia. _She shook her head in disbelief slightly. _I will have to walk on eggshells for the rest of my life, trying to set a good example and uphold the honor of the Dragon Riders._

Interrupting her thoughts, Lady Nasuada called for attention.

"I request your attention please!" she said loudly, causing the whole crowd of about two hundred to quiet in a hushed silence.

"When we return, we will hold a special celebration in honor of our newfound allies," she said, smiling. A small applause erupted among the crowd, causing Aletheia's stomach to clench. "Now, let us go and introduce Alagaesia's new hope to the city of Aberon!"

Aletheia saw Nasuada scanning the crowd, looking for her. Aletheia walked up to her and saw that her family and Eragon were waiting for her. Slowly, she followed her fellow Dragon Riders to the doors.

Then she realized something. "Wait, where are the dragons?"

King Orrin revealed a small smile. "The dragons wanted to reveal themselves in their own special way."

"Ready?" Eragon asked, nudging her softly.

She turned to look at him and her apprehension poured through her eyes.

He nodded in understanding. "I know exactly how you feel," he said. "It's okay. But don't doubt yourself, because these people are more perceptive than you think – they will see if you waver."

Wondering if that was supposed to calm her nerves, Aletheia nodded and set her gaze straight as Nasuada opened the doors.

What Aletheia saw next made her gasp in awe. Nearly two thousand people stood outside of Aberon castle, squeezing in between the houses that lined the main street in front of the castle. As soon as they emerged from the castle, the crowd erupted into tumultuous applause. At this moment, any fear or anxiety she had felt in the passed few days was gone with the evening wind. Instead, it was replaced with pride and determination. When she saw these people, she saw the future of her world – she saw so many faces whose existence rested wholly on her shoulders – and it did not scare her in the least now. She smiled, bowing her head, as she stood beside Lady Nasuada – Eragon stood on her right.

To subdue the crowd, King Orrin raised his hands. "Tonight, we are truly honored and fortunate to introduce the people of Aberon to our new hope! Here, Lady Nasuada and myself stand before you with five extraordinary people whose presence turns the tide against the evil Empire! I present to you four new Dragon Riders who have emerged from the North to fight against the dark shadow of the Empire!"

At this, the crowd clapped, yelled, and screamed – the sound was deafening. Aletheia didn't think she had heard something so loud – but she was wrong. At that moment, five dragons circled above, and issued a collective roar that reverberated throughout all of Aberon. The roar shook Aletheia to her core. The crowd looked up in surprise and exploded into even more applause and cheering. The dragons descended and landed next to their respective riders.

Aletheia grinned widely as Tearlach landed proudly next to her. She stroked his side.

_Glad to see you could make it_, she said jokingly.

He merely grinned and nuzzled her cheek.

* * *

As Aletheia stood next to Tearlach that night, talking and laughing with people, she finally felt genuinely happy about her destiny. The earlier ceremony was exactly what she needed. It served as a wake-up call for her. She glanced around the Hall and watched the jovial crowd laugh and converse among each other.

_This is what I'm fighting for. This. Right here. Happiness._

_Yes, Theia. This is what the people of Alagaesia deserve. _Tearlach said.

The celebration continued merrily, with soft, yet jubilant music playing in the background. Aletheia had spent her entire time with Tearlach and Maria, yet, after the introduction ceremony, she had not seen Eragon. Bidding Tearlach goodbye, so he could talk with Saphira, Aletheia searched for Eragon. She finally found him, sitting at a table watching the celebration from the sidelines. He looked deep in thought, so she hesitated in disturbing him.

Somehow, he sensed her gaze and beckoned her towards him.

Aletheia sat next to him and watched the people dance merrily to the music.

As they sat in silence, Aletheia glanced at him wearily and saw his hand resting on the hilt of his sapphire sword.

"Where'd you get it?" she asked him, nodding towards his blade.

He smiled fondly at his sword, stroking the hilt reminiscently.

"I received this sword from the Elves in Ellesmera," he said. "After my first blade was – taken," he said with difficulty, "I was in need of a replacement. The Elves were kind enough to supply me with one of their best swords. But, when I was training with Master Oromis in Ellesmera, I broke the blade in a sparring session. So I was, yet again, in desperate need of a new sword. The Elvin swordsmith, Rhunon, had refused to forge another 'blade of death' after her swords had been used for the torture and oppression of the people by the Forsworn. She made an oath in the ancient language, which could not be broken."

He looked at her and grinned when he saw her staring at him in rapt attention – so he continued.

"But, something terrible happened while I was there in Ellesmera finishing my training," he said sadly. "Her niece, on a diplomatic mission to Farthen Dur, was killed by the Red Rider of the Empire." His eyes darkened at this. "When news reached Ellesmera of this tragedy, she vowed to have revenge against the Red Rider. She said she would do this through forging a blade of hope and life for me. When she presented my sword to me in Ellesmera, she said 'Let this blade be used for the salvation and renewed life of Alagaesia'. She named it 'Estel', meaning 'hope'."

Eragon bowed his head, saddened. Aletheia knew he wanted desperately to avenge Rhunon's niece.

Aletheia boldly reached out and touched his cheek with the back of her hand. "You will avenge Rhunon-elda's niece and bring peace and hope to the land of Alagaesia. Do not despair," she said softly.

At this, he slowly turned towards her and slowly let his eyes rise to meet her gaze. Taking her hand in his, he kissed the back of her hand. "Thank you, Theia. Your words lighten my heart."

She smiled in return. As she opened her mouth to start a more cheerful conversation, he turned from her and his eyes set on something entering the castle. She followed his line of sight and saw a beautiful woman with ebony hair enter the castle with another woman with shimmering blonde hair. Aletheia realized with a start that they were elves! She looked at Eragon and saw that his stare never wavered. She felt an invisible hand clench her heart.

Eragon turned back towards her and offered an apologetic look. "Please excuse me, but there is someone I must speak with." Aletheia nodded mutely and watched him walk swiftly toward the woman with black hair. He touched his two fingers to his lips and offered a greeting to her.

She frowned enviously. _He's in love with her!_ Aletheia watched their interactions and noticed with bitter satisfaction that the woman kept her distance from Eragon.

For the rest of the evening, she stood with her parents and Micah, accepting words of encouragement and gratitude from people in the castle. She kept glancing at Eragon in the far right corner. He was still talking with the elf. It was obvious that Saphira was close with the elf too, for Saphira was standing next to her and the woman kept glancing at Saphira as if she was speaking to her. She shook her head and returned her concentration to the people in front of her.

* * *

Several months had passed since the celebration for Aletheia and her family. In those months, Aletheia spent her days training with Eragon and the elf, who she quickly learned to be Arya. Despite knowing that Arya was the object of Eragon's affections, Aletheia grudgingly decided to like Arya. She was, after all, forced to spend three hours a day with Arya, learning about the elves' culture. As far as Eragon was concerned, Aletheia learned to push aside her feelings for Eragon and concentrate on her training. Over the passed several months, Aletheia realized that her feelings for Eragon had vanished in result of her training.

One day, Aletheia was headed down to the dragonhold to go flying with Tearlach. This had also become a daily routine for Aletheia and her dragon. She valued these moments with Tearlach more than she valued her time with her family.

As she reached the dragonhold, she heard someone running down the hall toward her. It was Micah.

He halted in front of her and pulled her towards the dragonhold. "Come, we are needed at the gates of Aberon."

"Why?" she asked, following behind him.

He remained silent for several minutes before he answered. "Because, the Red Rider has decided to reveal himself again. This time, he has brought along a fellow Rider."

She gasped in surprise. "Galbatorix?"

He did not answer as they came upon the dragons. Her family and Eragon were attaching saddles to the dragons in haste.

She wrenched her arm free of her cousin's grasp and ran over to Tearlach, her heart beating furiously. She quickly put on her armor and shoved her head into the helm lying next to Tearlach.

As she mounted him, she watched her family and Eragon do the same. She saw Saphira crouch on the windowsill before taking off into the sunlight. Tearlach followed suit. As soon as they were in the air, she saw two masses flying towards Aberon castle.

Tearlach and Saphira led the pack as they flew to meet the two opponents

As the two masses came into view, Aletheia saw the familiar crimson dragon with an armored Rider on his back – Murtagh.

But she quickly glanced at the second mass. It was a beautiful emerald dragon with a Rider on its back. The green dragon was much smaller than the red dragon, but its legs were thick with obvious muscle. The Rider looked small and frail. Long blonde locks escaped from the helm, resting on the Rider's shoulders. _The new Rider is a girl!_

As they neared each other, the two Imperial dragons dove sharply, heading towards the ground.

The Varden's Riders followed them and landed several hundred feet opposite of the two Riders.

As Aletheia gripped one of Tearlach's spikes, she felt a stone drop in her stomach.

_The last egg had hatched._ she said to Tearlach.

He sent a wave of agreement through their link. _Galbatorix is ready. _

_

* * *

_

So, I hope that answered your question, **untamedspiral**: )

I know it's really short, but I wanted to leave a tiny cliff-hanger for you guys :D

Please review! It will encourage me to update faster!


	10. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Oops. I forgot to put disclaimers in my last few chapters. I don't own any of this. Okay? Happy now?

**Review Replies:**

**Sabien-black**: He told them about Oromis because Aletheia and her family already knew of him. Her parents were trained by him (chapters 2 and 3) and her parents trained her and Micah with Oromis and Vrael's sword techniques in mind. So it was safe to tell them. I realize now that he took an oath, so he couldn't break it - so that was a mistake on my part - but the above is my rationalization for it. Thanks for the review: )

**Sadgoat:** Thanks so much for the compliment! It's nice to have a new reviewer! I hope you like this chapter!

**Miyu-Sato-Hi:** Yes, a new Rider. And yes, Aletheia will live. You'll find out about the new Rider very, very soon. Thanks for reviewing!

**Emerald Tiara:** Yeah, I know it wasn't TOO great. But I'm glad you reviewed anyways. I hope this chapter is better than the last one!

**Untamedspiral:** Thanks! I figured that Rhunon needed to change her mind about forging swords for the Riders (even if Paolini won't take that route). As always: thanks for sticking with me.

**Saucydog**: Here's your update! Haha. Don't worry. I have a little bit of everything in this story. I just hope you're not going to guess _everything_ that I'm doing, haha. :hint hint:

**dd9736**: Um, after reading your review, I'm not sure how to take it. lol. Anyway, I borrowed 'estel' from Tolkien because I could not find a word for 'hope' in Paolini's Ancient Language. Seeing as it was important to my plot, I needed a better word than just 'hope' for a sword. Thanks for reviewing, though : )

Here's another update, since I'm really excited about the next few chapters! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 9**

As the two masses came into view, Aletheia saw the familiar crimson dragon with an armored Rider on his back – Murtagh.

But she quickly glanced at the second mass. It was a beautiful emerald dragon with a Rider on its back. The green dragon was much smaller than the red dragon, but its legs were thick with obvious muscle. The Rider looked small and frail. Long blonde locks escaped from the helm, resting on the Rider's shoulders. _The new Rider is a girl!_

As they neared each other, the two Imperial dragons dove sharply, heading towards the ground.

The Varden's Riders followed them and landed several hundred feet opposite of the two Riders.

As Aletheia gripped one of Tearlach's spikes, she felt a stone drop in her stomach.

_The last egg had hatched. Galbatorix is ready.

* * *

_

The Riders on both sides remained still, watching their opponents. Aletheia looked at the two Imperial Riders incredulously.

_We outnumber them greatly! What are they doing here? Do they want to get themselves killed?_

_I do not think they came to fight. _Tearlach said, bearing his ivory teeth at Thorn and the unnamed dragon_. I think they came here to remind us that they are still a formidable threat to us, especially with the new Rider._

Aletheia shook her head in disbelief as she waited for someone to speak. At that moment, Murtagh spoke as he pulled off his helm. The other Rider remained silent and still as Thorn walked closer to the Riders.

"Greetings, Riders of the Varden," he said with a sneer, "We have come on behalf of King Galbatorix to offer you clemency in return for your allegiance."

Tearlach growled at him. _Does he think us blind and obtuse? _

Murtagh glanced at Tearlach before continuing. "Our Master knows of your strength and skill. He is graciously offering his forgiveness if you join us," Murtagh repeated.

Eragon scoffed from behind his helm. "What is the real reason you came here, Rider?" he asked viciously.

Murtagh hardened his glare at Eragon. "You think I'm lying, Eragon?" Aletheia looked at Eragon from the corner of her eyes. They seemed to know each other.

Eragon took of his helm and said, "Am I being unreasonable in suspecting hidden and evil intentions from the Empire's Rider?"

Murtagh stared at Eragon for a moment before he shrugged dismissively, saying, "I suppose not."

This time, Aletheia spoke. "Even if we did accept your offer, Red Rider, which we are not foolish enough to do, we would be tortured extensively. What makes you think that that'd be 'gracious forgiveness'."

Murtagh's lips curled into a cruel sneer. "A few days torture is nothing compared to what you will experience if you defy him. Once we defeat the Varden, and you are captured, you will be wishing that you had accepted our offer."

At his threat, Tearlach roared loudly and snapped angrily at him, coming within a few inches of Thorn. Thorn stepped back in alarm before recovering and snapping back.

"I do not think you are in the best position to be making threats, Red Rider," Mandall said fiercely, as Gunther walked forward. As Gunther neared Thorn, Thorn stepped back uneasily, snorting.

"Leave now, before we tear you and your fellow Rider to pieces," Mandall said menacingly.

Murtagh smiled bitterly, pulling his helm back on. But before his helm covered his eyes, Aletheia could've sworn she had seen a flash of sadness and fear in the eyes of the Red Rider. As Thorn turned to take off, Murtagh turned back around. "Oh, I would like to introduce you to the Empire's new Rider," he said, indicating the Green Rider. "Believe me when I say this: we are still a fearsome threat to you, despite your numbers. You are still no match for Galbatorix."

At this, the Red and Green dragons took off in unison, disappearing amidst the dying sun. The Riders of the Varden watched them disappear in silence. Then, Eragon and Saphira turned around and took off towards the dragonhold.

Sighing, Aletheia told Tearlach to follow the pair.

No one spoke on their way back to the hold, nor did they speak when they returned. The dragons went into their respective caves to rest, while Micah, Mandall and Marissa exited the hold in silence.

Only when Aletheia and Eragon were alone in the dragonhold, did Aletheia decide to voice her thoughts.

"Why would they come, Eragon?" she asked, sitting on a bench. "They knew that we would not accept their offer. Or did they truly think we'd seriously consider it?"

Eragon shook his head bitterly. "No," he said, "you're right. They knew we were not foolish enough to accept it. We would be tortured, as you said, and our minds would've been entered brutally. Galbatorix would extract every single bit of information about the Varden that he could. No. They came to show that the last dragon egg had hatched and that they were not as weak in numbers as we had originally thought."

Aletheia did not respond. Rather, she sat in silence, thinking over their confrontation. Then she remembered the look in Murtagh's eyes and a conversation she had with Maria when she first came here.

"Eragon, there is something I'm curious about," she said, breaking the deafening silence that had overcome the pair. "Maria and I had a discussion when I first arrived in Aberon about Murtagh."

Eragon nodded mutely, encouraging her to continue.

"She said that Murtagh once fought alongside you and the Varden. But he betrayed you by joining Galbatorix," she said, choosing her words carefully, assuming this was a sore topic for Eragon. "You would think that after all that and tonight's events that I would believe him to be an evil person. But before he put his helm on, I saw sadness in his eyes. It was almost as if he regretted what he was doing."

She looked at Eragon. He appeared to be deep in thought. He sighed heavily before saying, "After the battle at Farthen Dur, when he fought alongside me, he and the former leader of the Varden, Ajihad, went looking for more Urgals in a tunnel. But he did not return. We thought he was dead, because Arya found his bloodied clothes in the tunnel." He paused, bringing his calloused hand to his face and rubbing his temples stressfully. "But he was not dead. He had been kidnapped by Twin magicians who had worked for the Varden, but were spies for Galbatorix the whole time. Galbatorix forced him to swear fealty to him and become a Rider for the Empire. So, in a way, you are right. He does regret what he's doing. If it were his choice, he'd be fighting for the Varden. But, he is not as innocent in this as you think."

Aletheia looked at him, confused.

"In the Battle at the Burning Plains, he and I fought against each other – Rider against Rider," he said tiredly. "When I found out he had betrayed the Varden, albeit, unwillingly, I knew what I had to do – I had to kill him. But he would not let me. He would not sacrifice his and Thorn's lives for the people of Alagaesia. If he was truly good inside, he would've have let me end his entrapment right then and there. But he did not. So, he is our enemy."

Aletheia nodded and was about to leave, but she could see that something else was tearing at Eragon.

She put her hand on his arm. "What's wrong?"

Eragon looked up at her. His eyes were full of pain and regret as he opened his mouth.

"Murtagh is Morzan's son," he said quietly, looking away from her. Aletheia gasped softly, realizing that the Red Rider was the son of the man who had killed Micah's mother.

But she wondered why it was so painful for Eragon to say this. He answered her unspoken question next: "He is my brother," he said softly. "I, too, am Morzan's son."

Aletheia's eyes widened at this as she stood abruptly. He looked up at her, startled.

"You are Murtagh's brother?" she whispered. Now it made sense. She had noticed that they seemed to know each other and that Eragon held a separate hostility towards the Red Rider.

Eragon nodded in shame. Realizing that she was alienating him, she sat down next to him again. "I'm sorry, Eragon. I know it must be hard on you to carry such a burden," she said kindly. "But you are not Morzan or Murtagh. You are Eragon. You are a noble and just Rider. Do not think that you carry the same sins that they do."

Eragon nodded in silence. Aletheia realized with a silent laugh that she had comforted Eragon a lot in the past several months.

Eragon seemed to realize this too. "Thank you for being there for me, Theia. It's not your burden. Yet, you have been there for me when others have not."

Aletheia offered a small grin before standing up. "What are friends for?"

When she looked at him, she saw a strange look cross Eragon's face before it disappeared.

Shrugging it off, she followed him out of the dragonhold.

* * *

Another month passed after their confrontation with the Empire's Riders. Eragon and Aletheia grew closer while they spent numerous hours together either sparring or flying with their dragons. Aletheia had also noticed that Tearlach and Saphira were spending more time together, choosing to go off on their own. Eragon and Aletheia thought it was good for the two to be close.

One day, during a sparring session, Lady Nasuada entered the room and cleared her throat for their attention.

Aletheia and Eragon stopped immediately and walked up to her.

"Come," she said tersely. "You are needed in the council room."

Bewildered, Aletheia looked at Eragon, who had the same puzzled look she had plastered on her face. While they followed Lady Nasuada down to the council room, they held a mental conversation.

_What do you think this is about? _Aletheia asked Eragon.

_I don't know. But whatever it is, it's pretty serious. Lady Nasuada does not look pleased._

As soon as they entered the council room, raised voices reached their ears.

"I will not allow our main defenses to leave Aberon to go on some fool's journey!" King Orrin yelled.

Aletheia's eyes widened as she saw who he was yelling at. Arya was standing opposite of King Orrin, with a dangerous look on her delicate face. Aletheia briefly mused that she'd hate to be on Arya's bad side.

"Like it or not, King Orrin, my liege would like to see the new Riders for herself!" Arya said in a soft but commanding voice. "To exclude the elves from having the honor of meeting the new Riders, will alienate them and will, in result, make them more prone to ignore your need for aid in the Final Battle."

"Are you threatening me, Arya?" he said dangerously.

She shook her head. "No. I am merely pointing out the fact that it would be _unwise_ to exclude the elves from this. The Riders are as much their business and concern as they are yours!"

King Orrin shook his head in disbelief. He eyed Lady Nasuada and shook his head again.

Aletheia stood next to her mother and asked her what was going on.

"Queen Islanzadi has asked for our presence in Ellesmera immediately," her mother answered quietly. "King Orrin and Lady Nasuada are putting up a great fight against letting us leave."

"What if the Empire attacks while you are away?" King Orrin asked viciously. "What are we to do without our Riders?"

Arya sighed. "My Lord, the spies estimate that Galbatorix will not attack for _at least_ another two months. His army has not yet been built to his expected strength, so there is no possible way that he will attack in the next two months!"

"Estimates?" King Orrin repeated incredulously. "The spies ESTIMATE? We can not go about our plans on mere estimations, my dear Arya."

"Nevertheless," Arya said flatly, "My Queen requests their presence. I strongly advise you acquiesce her requests." Aletheia watched Arya throughout the entire confrontation. During this time, she acquired immense respect for Arya for standing up against Aberon's King.

King Orrin, defeated, threw himself into a nearby chair, putting his face into his hands.

"Very well," Lady Nasuada said curtly. "But if one word enters our ears of an early attack, we need you here at once – no delays. I also want Aletheia to keep Maria updated on your breaks." Nasuada looked at Aletheia. "I want you to keep an open link you're your handmaiden, so that if anything happens, you will know immediately."

Aletheia nodded her comprehension.

King Orrin looked up at Lady Nasuada in incredulous shock at her agreement to the Elves' demands.

Arya nodded before bowing. "We will leave in the morning."

Aletheia, knowing that King Orrin and Lady Nasuada would be exchanging extremely heated words, exited the room behind Arya.

During her stay at Aberon, Aletheia had become anxious about getting out of the castle and seeing more of Alagaesia. But she had never expected that the next time she would leave the castle would be to see the elves.

However, leaving Aberon meant leaving Maria. She dreaded leaving her friend at the castle, but knew it had to be done. Besides, she hadn't seen Maria very often recently. She had been disappearing for days at a time. Nevertheless, she knew she would still miss Maria's company.

That night, she ventured down to the dragonhold to visit Tearlach and tell him of their journey. He was extremely pleased with the news that he'd be able to fly freely and hunt as he pleased. Patting his nose, she turned to leave. As she looked back to smile at Tearlach, she saw him settle next to Saphira and gently lay his head on her neck. Grinning widely, Aletheia made her way up the stone steps and to her room.

* * *

The next morning, Aletheia was awoken by Maria shaking her gently. As she stretched tiredly, she noticed it was still dark out. Maria held a candle to illuminate the room as she stood next to Aletheia's bed.

"Your mother and father thought it best if you got an early start," Maria said, setting the candle down on Aletheia's nightstand. She turned from Aletheia and took out a pair of black pants and a white tunic. Maria carried them over to Aletheia and urged her to hurry up and dress.

As she pulled the tunic over her head, she saw Maria packing her leather sack for her.

"Where have you been, Maria?" Aletheia asked tiredly, picking up a brush and pulling it through her hair. "I haven't seen you around the castle lately."

Maria stopped packing abruptly. "I've be running errands for the King," she said dismissively.

Aletheia narrowed her eyes at Maria slightly before shrugging.

As soon as they were both done, Aletheia walked over to Maria and embraced her tightly.

"Thank you so much for being there for me," she said to Maria. "You became my best friend and I thank you for that."

As they pulled away from the embrace, Aletheia thought she saw a strange gleam in Maria's eyes.

Maria merely nodded and said, "Be careful and keep me updated."

* * *

An hour later, the Riders were down at the gates of Aberon, climbing on their respective dragons. Food and supplies were attached to the dragons' sides, so that the Riders would not have to make any stops into town. As Aletheia strapped her legs in Tearlach's saddle, she watched as Arya climbed onto Saphira behind Eragon.

"Farewell, Riders!" King Orrin said. "Make haste in your return to Aberon."

The Riders nodded their assent as the dragons crouched and took off into the dark sky.

* * *

Two days passed since they left Aberon. Nothing out of the ordinary occurred, giving the Riders a sense of security. During their flight, Aletheia asked Arya how long it would take to get to Ellesmera.

_If we fly throughout the day and take short breaks during the night, we will reach Ellesmera in a week and a half. _Arya responded.

Throughout their journey, their days grew longer and more tiresome – especially for the dragons. Tearlach would tire after three hours in the air. Saphira, Gunther, Anassa, and Adelbert were the same. The dragons' moods would also sour at the same rate. The Riders would push the dragons to their limits in order to arrive at Ellesmera in time.

Whenever they would land, they would eat a small lunch or snack and give the dragons and hour's rest. During the night, the dragons and riders would sleep for several hours before starting the next day just as they had started the last. Aletheia quickly grew bored and would have frequent conversations with Eragon, Micah, or Tearlach to pass the time.

On the eighth day of their journey, they landed mid-day near a patch of trees running alongside tiny mountains in the Hadarac desert. Aletheia thought it strange to find plant life in a dry climate, but would not complain, as they found shelter from the sporadic sand storms that would torment the desert. As soon as they had settled in the pack of trees, Aletheia contacted Maria, as usual, and updated her on their whereabouts and progress.

That night, Aletheia ventured away from the group to look out on the dark desert. As she sat down on the dusty ground, she felt a flicker of something pass through her mind. But as soon as it had come, it had disappeared. She sighed deeply, wondering what the elves would be like. She remembered her parents telling her of the beauty of the forest of Du Weldenvarden, but she was anxious to see it herself.

Letting her thoughts consume her mind, she closed her eyes. The ironically cool breeze of the desert caressed her face softly as she leaned back on her hands. She opened her eyes and felt her heart stop as she thought she saw something in the distance. She blinked and looked at the same place but saw nothing. Shrugging, she stood from the ground to brush off the sand from her black pants.

As she walked back towards the trees, she felt a familiar presence enter her mind. Alarmed, she turned and saw an enormous black mass approaching her rapidly.

She tried to scream, but found that she had no voice. Panic overcame her as she tried to contact Tearlach, but she realized that this thing had blocked her mind. She turned to run back to the trees, her heart beating frantically through her chest.

She hearda cold voice utter, "slytha", and she knew no more.

* * *

hehe. Another cliff-hanger:grins evilly:

How was it? Better than the last chapter? As always: review please!

I also want to add another thank you to my reviewers! Believe me: you'll see some action in the next few chapters :-)

In result of this, I'm going to raise the rating to "T". What happens in Chapter 10 definitely constitutes a rise in the rating. How do I know? I have already written chapter 10. I'm really excited about this next couple of chapters, so PLEASE review and give me your honest opinions of them (a lot is revealed).


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – A Hope Renewed

* * *

As she walked back towards the trees, she felt a familiar presence enter her mind. Alarmed, she turned and saw an enormous black mass approaching her rapidly. 

She tried to scream, but found that she had no voice. Panic overcame her as she tried to contact Tearlach, but she realized that this thing had blocked her mind. She turned to run back to the trees, her heart beating frantically through her chest.

She heard someone utter, "slytha", and she knew no more.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone was eating around the fire, holding a steady conversation. Aletheia left about twenty minutes ago, saying she needed some air. As everyone conversed quietly, Eragon looked around and saw that Aletheia had not returned. He excused himself from the circle and went to find Aletheia. 

Eragon stood outside of the patch of trees, scanning the dark abyss for any signs of Aletheia. His heart began beating rapidly when he realized that she was nowhere to be found. He tried contacting her through their mental link, but he found insurmountable walls blocking his way into her mind. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Aletheia could never procure walls that strong, no one but - . _Galbatorix!_

Eragon ran back to the group and informed them of Aletheia's disappearance. At his revelation, Mandall stood from the ground. Tearlach's head snapped up immediately.

_What?_ Tearlach roared.

"She's gone," Eragon repeated, flinching at Tearlach's outburst. "I think Galbatorix himself took her."

The camp went silent at Eragon's theory. A low growl came from Tearlach as he turned his head toward where Aletheia had gone earlier.

"But, how?" Marissa asked, tears welling up in her eyes. "How could Galbatorix know where we are?"

Arya sat silent at the fire as everyone mulled over every explanation.

"Maria," she said softly. Everyone looked at her.

"Maria?" Eragon asked incredulously. "What does this have to do with Maria?"

Arya looked up at Eragon. "Aletheia kept an open link with Maria," she said steadily. "Remember that Nasuada asked Aletheia to keep the Varden updated through Maria. The information might have fallen into the wrong hands."

Mandall sighed heavily, running his scarred hands through his graying hair. "We're going after them."

But Arya shook her head. "We can't."

Everyone but Eragon snapped their eyes to Arya immediately. "Why?" Micah said angrily. "My cousin is being imprisoned by the most vicious man in Alagaesia and you're telling us we can't rescue her?"

"Not right now," she said, staring into the fire. "Galbatorix will be expecting us to rescue her immediately."

When she glanced around, she saw she was on the receiving end of enraged stares. She sighed heavily.

"If we rescue her immediately, as Galbatorix plans, we will be caught in an ambush," she said steadily. "Remember, he tried to have Aletheia captured in the beginning so she could join him. If we attempt to rescue her, I have no doubt Galbatorix will take Tearlach and force them to swear fealty to him. Then the Varden will no longer have the upper-hand. Besides, without a thorough understanding of Uru'bean's structure and surroundings, we would be storming in there blindly. You must understand, Mandall, we put Alagaesia's salvation at a severe risk if we go there."

Micah spun around to Eragon and furiously met his eyes. "You don't agree with this madness, do you?"

Eragon sighed. "Unfortunately, I do," he replied, causing Micah to utter several curses underneath his breath. "Micah, we WILL rescue her. Galbatorix will not kill her. We have time."

This time, Eragon turned to Tearlach. _I hope you understand where we're coming from._

Tearlach slowly nodded. _I understand. Though, it goes against my heart to do so.

* * *

_

Countless miles away, Aletheia lay unconscious on a cold, stone floor. Bruises covered her fair body and dried blood was evident on her head and arms. Upon her arrival to Uru'bean, she was awoken from her induced sleep and was beaten and tortured for information on the Varden for hours. After the beating, she was carelessly dumped in a dingy cell beneath the castle.

During the torture, Aletheia receded deep within her mental barriers so that whoever was attempting to break into her mind would meet defiant walls. She knew her barriers were not insuperable, but she had hoped that they would be strong enough to make the person cease their assault temporarily – she succeeded.

Hours later, Aletheia stirred at the sound of muffled voices outside her cell. As soon as she awoke, she felt a rushing wave of excruciating pain pass over her entire body. She tried to contain the scream that was threatening to escape from her mouth. Instead, a low groan escaped her beaten form as tears fell from her closed eyes and settled in several open scratches. Cringing in agony, Aletheia curled up into a fetal position, her muscles tensing sorely.

As the initial wave of pain subsided slightly, she was suddenly aware of the cold floor beneath her body. She welcomed the soothing cold against her body and let her muscles relax at the unexpected remedy. At this, she allowed her eyes to flutter open. Her amethyst eyes scanned the cell and rested on two guards standing outside her cell. They were looking intently at her through the metal bars imprisoning her.

Whimpering softly in pain, Aletheia tried to push herself into a sitting position. Her muscles shook horribly as she put her small weight on them briefly, managing to successfully sit up. She smiled inwardly at the small feat as she settled herself gently against the wall, facing the guards. But her initial satisfaction was dulled by the sudden occurrence of anger. As she stared at the guards, she wondered furiously if they were the ones who had beaten her and tortured her for information. The fearful expressions on their faces told her they were mere observers.

Sighing audibly, she ran her hands through her matted hair, wondering how she got herself into this mess. _Oh yes, _she remembered wryly_, I decided to walk into an unknown desert on my own. Brilliant._

Ignoring the pain that coursed through her body, Aletheia carefully hugged her knees to her chest. She gently laid her head on her knees and wondered what was going to happen to her. She wondered if her family was okay and if Tearlach, Eragon, Saphira, and Arya were unharmed. Aletheia had no idea who had captured her and how they managed to block off her voice and mental link with Tearlach, but she knew they had to be extremely powerful. _How did they find us_? She asked herself furiously. Grabbing her hair tightly in her fists, she came to a horrifying realization: _Maria betrayed me_. _Or, at least, the information I gave her fell into the wrong hands._ She pondered the second option, but quickly put it to rest. It all made sense; Maria's recent disappearances, her nonchalant dismissal of Aletheia's questions, and that unsettling gleam in her eyes the morning of their departure. A mixture of fury and sorrow overcame her as she felt another wave of tears threaten to pour down her cheeks. The feeling of betrayal was worse than anything she could possibly imagine. Bringing her knees closer to her chest, she let uncontrollable sobs rack her battered frame.

But loud voices approaching her cell caused her to hastily wipe the tears from her eyes. Sniffling slightly, she saw a cloaked figure draw near her cell. The figure turned towards her and stared at her for a few moments. But she could not see the individual's face as it was shadowed by the ebony cloak's hood. Despite this, she could feel a surge of evil wash over her consciousness. Shivering, she turned her gaze from the figure and fixed it on a crack in the wall.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the guards nod silently and walk out of her line of sight. But the figure remained. Slowly, it lowered its hood and turned its piercing stare to her.

Reluctantly, Aletheia brought her amethyst eyes to meet the ebony ones of the most evil and brutal man in Alagaesia: King Galbatorix. He didn't need to introduce himself, for she knew from his malevolent presence that it was indeed him. He was dressed in emerald velvet robes with rich purple and expensive gold lining the sleeves and hem. A bright gold ring with a black stone rested on his right middle finger: it was a ring of a King.

He brought her attention back to his face as he cackled loudly. "So, Aletheia, daughter of Mandall," he scoffed, leaning against the wall opposite her cell. "Here you are, in my control."

Aletheia merely glared angrily at the murderer.

"You know, young Rider," he continued, ignoring her glare, "you were very hard to capture. Murtagh could not successfully capture you – he was punished most severely. And even I had a hard time finding you, despite the clear directions I was given by a dear friend of yours."

Aletheia's deadly expression didn't falter at his revelation. He looked slightly surprised at this, but quickly recovered.

"I see that you're not surprised?" he said, folding his arms.

She remained silent. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he got to her.

"And now, Maria is still safely stationed in Aberon castle, sending me weekly updates on the Varden's plans for the Final Battle that will take place in a month's time," he said with unhidden glee.

Aletheia's eyes snapped up to meet his.

"Oh yes," he added. "Maria has been altering the 'spies' minds for the past several months. Apparently the Varden is under the impression that I will not attack for at least two months."

At this revelation, Aletheia felt all hope disappear. The Varden would be crushed!

Smirking, he licked his lips and sighed. "Now, to the point: I'm sure you're wondering why I captured you?"

Refusing to answer him, she held his gaze defiantly. Galbatorix shook his head and walked to her cell door and muttered a few words. The cell lock clicked and the door slid back on its on accord.

Eyeing him apprehensively, Aletheia tried to scoot farther away from him.

"One thing you will find I do not tolerate, under any circumstances, is disrespect," he said dangerously. "When I address you, you will answer me. Is that understood, girl?"

Aletheia narrowed her eyes at him. She would not allow him to intimidate her. But she wasn't prepared for his next move.

Raising his right hand, he yelled, "brisingr!"

She screamed as she felt excruciating pain burn through her entire body. She knew she was going to die right then and there. She let out another ear-piercing scream before the pain diminished slightly.

Panting heavily, Aletheia cautiously sat up, not even daring to look Galbatorix in the eye.

Galbatorix chuckled softly before he bent down to her level and grabbed her chin and jerked her face towards him. "Next time you feel like being smart, I want you to remember that pain. Because it is what you will meet every time you defy me." He smirked as he let go of her chin.

"Now I will repeat my question," he said slowly. "Are you wondering why I captured you, Aletheia, daughter of Mandall?"

Reluctantly, she nodded her head. But right now, she wasn't thinking about that. She was sat there, amazed and terrified that 'brisingr' could be used on humans.

Galbatorix smiled. "Ah, well, I'm sure you are aware that I have been one Rider short of matching the Varden's numbers," he said. "Not that it would matter if they had more Riders than me – I am more powerful than your mother, father, and cousin combined. But, as a fair King to my people, I only wished to be evenly matched with the Varden – if only in numbers."

At this, Aletheia scoffed.

Galbatorix's lip curled. "Do you not think I am fair to my people? Well, we will see if you still think the way you do when I'm through with you."

Aletheia hands fidgeted nervously as he spoke. She didn't like his tone and his implications at all. Did he mean he would torture her more? Or would he try to brainwash her? _No, _she thought_, I can't be brainwashed._

He smirked as he let her determine the meaning of his implications.

"Ah, but I have not yet informed you of my plans for you," he said jovially. "You see, if I am to fulfill my goal of wiping out the Varden, I'm going to need another Rider at my side. I attempted to have your young friend, Eragon, captured not too long ago, but, Murtagh failed. However, when word reached my ears of _your _existence in the Spine, my focus shifted to you. I had my spies remain invisible to you and your pathetic family in order for them to determine your power and skill. I was most pleased when they returned with weekly reports of your growing strength.

"You, Aletheia, would be a significant addition to my cause. I am asking you, here and now, to join me. You will be rewarded immensely with glory and power, I assure you. And, needless to say, you would not have to battle against me in the Final Battle."

Aletheia looked at him like he was mad. She had truly believed that her absolute allegiance to the Varden had already been revealed. _Why is he asking me to join him when he clearly knows that I would rather die than join him?_

"I will allow you to think on it," he said, as he walked out of her cell. But just as he was shutting her cell bars, she started laughing.

He stopped midway and looked at her menacingly.

Aletheia stopped laughing and stared at him. "You foolishly believe I would betray my family and friends so I would attain glory and power? I honestly thought you were smarter than that, your _majesty_," she said sardonically.

He merely narrowed his eyes at her before a cruel smirk played across his lips. Looking to his right he called a guard to the cell.

"Until she is ready to swear fealty to me, under no circumstances is she to receive any food. Is that clear, captain?" he said harshly, turning his sharp gaze to her.

"Yes, sir," the guard said.

"Have the guard inform me of your _final_ decision, girl," he said, not missing the incredulous look on her face. "I assure you, you will swear fealty to me in the end. If I have to torture your precious dragon in order to get your oath, I will not hesitate to do so. But know well that your experience at this castle will be much more pleasant if I am not pressed to force my hand in such a way."

Aletheia's eyes widened. "You have Tearlach?"

He grinned wickedly before he turned on his heel and left.

Little did she know, as she buried her face into her hands, that Tearlach was safe with her family, in Ellesmera.

* * *

Several days passed and still, Aletheia had not given in to Galbatorix's demands. But for the first time in her life, she was actually considering joining him. She couldn't live without Tearlach; he was her best friend, her guardian, her _life_. She had heard all the stories of Riders dying out of grief when their dragons die before them and she completely understood that now. Dark thoughts plagued her mind as she sat against the wall, her stomach growling loudly from the lack of food. 

She considered every aspect that would result from her decision. She knew that her family would be horrified and utterly heartbroken if she broke their trust and bond. She was also aware that Eragon would loathe her very existence. _But,_ she thought, _Galbatorix would probably make me kill Eragon and my family_. The mere thought sent shivers down her spine.

Every time she would seriously consider Galbatorix's demands, she would think about her family and Eragon. They meant everything to her and she couldn't bear betraying them.

_But what about Tearlach_, a sinister voice said in the back of her mind. _Could you live with yourself knowing that you had caused the death of your dragon?_

She shook her head. _No, I couldn't._

It was then and there that Aletheia made her decision and called for the guard to take her before Galbatorix.

* * *

Tearlach stood among the trees in Ellesmera. He tried to distract himself from the feeling of loneliness that was eating him alive; but he couldn't. All he could think about was that he wanted Theia back. They had arrived in Ellesmera a couple of days ago and it tore Tearlach apart when he explored the Elven city, knowing that Aletheia would've loved this place. Saphira approached him wearily and watched the elves busy themselves with their trivial duties. 

_We'll find her, Tear. She'll be fine_. She said comfortingly.

Tearlach's deep voice rumbled through their link. _I'm not so sure. Galbatorix may have blocked Theia from me, but I can still feel traces of her consciousness in mine. I can feel that she's in pain and she's scared. She's helpless. _

_Theia is a strong and brave young woman, Tear. She will not be easily swayed or disheartened. Have faith in your Rider._

_I do, Saphira. I believe in her with all my heart - I love her too much no to.

* * *

_

Hmm, what will happen? I'm sureyou smart reviewers will be able to guess it.

This chapter was really hard to write. Eek.

Sorry it took so long to get this out. I've been busy writing future chapters. Plus, has been really slow and it wouldn't allow me to upload any chapters. Again, I offer my apologies :-\

_**Review please!**_

**Sturmwind0024** – Hi! First off, thanks for reviewing. You were pretty close about your prediction. Kudos!

**Miyu sato-hi** – well, you asked if she was going to live – and she does! Don't worry, she'll be fine … eventually.

**Morvana Du'Miruvor**: Wow! My first flame! Haha. Though, I'm sorry that you feel the need to insult my writing.

**Super-hero fan** – I hope that answers a couple of your questions. And the rest of them will be answered next chapter!

**Untamedspiral** – man you're good! Except, Nasuada is on the Varden's side. Her rationalization was that Maria was trusted around the castle since she had been there since she was young. Also, she was Theia's handmaiden, so they became "friends" during her stay there – so Nasuada thought that Theia communicating with Maria would be the best thing. Obviously, Nasuada is still young and makes mistakes in her leadership. And yes, Murtagh has feeling. I personally believe he's good inside – he was just misled. As always, thanks for reviewing!

**Emerald tiara**: Yep, cliffhangers are great! That's why I have a lot of them in this story.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – A Hope Renewed

* * *

Every time she would seriously consider Galbatorix's demands, she would think about her family and Eragon. They meant everything to her and she couldn't bear betraying them.

_But what about Tearlach_, a sinister voice said in the back of her mind. _Could you live with yourself knowing that you had caused the death of your dragon?_

She shook her head. _No, I couldn't._

It was then and there that Aletheia made her decision and called for the guard to take her before Galbatorix.

* * *

Aletheia's cell door creaked open as the guard unlocked it to let her out. He approached her nervously and told her to turn around so he could bind her hands. She obliged and winced as he tightened the course ropes around her wrists.

She followed him out of the cell and noticed a couple more guards approaching them. Aletheia smirked as she saw their weary glances at her. She even heard one murmur to a guard next to him, "Shouldn't the Red Rider help us? We're no match for magic-wielders."

Just to have a little fun with them, she tried to summon her magic. But as soon as she did that, she regretted it immensely. An enormously sharp pain struck her mind, making her knees buckle underneath her.

"No, we're not. But that," the guard said, indicating Aletheia's shaking form, "is the reason why we don't need to be accompanied. The King has put a barrier on her magic."

She heard a couple of them snicker as she was on her knees, shivering slightly from the pain.

"Get up," one of them said harshly, grabbing her arms. She yelped in pain as the guard grabbed her arms, making them crack from the strain.

"Hey!"

Aletheia turned sharply at the yell coming from the hall to the right of her. The Red Rider was walking swiftly towards them; he looked furious.

He snatched the guards hand from Aletheia's arm. "You know that the King's prisoner is not to be touched. You would do well to remember that if you value your life."

The guard stepped back in surprise as Murtagh nudged Aletheia forward. "I'll take it from here," he said coldly.

Aletheia remained silent through the duration of the trip to Galbatorix's throne room.

"I hope your answer is the right one, Aletheia," Murtagh muttered. "For your sake."

Aletheia rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend to care about my wellbeing, Rider. I am just another person to kill to you."

At this, Murtagh grabbed her arm tightly and spun her around to face him. "Don't speak of what you know not," he spat.

Unfazed, she glared at him and said, "Why not? After all, you killed the dwarf King at the Battle at the Burning Plains and you've killed other people with the blink of an eye. Why should I be any different?"

Murtagh tightened his grip on her arm as he spoke. "You know nothing of what I've had to do because of my allegiance to Galbatorix." As he let go of her arm, she saw a shadow of sadness pass over his countenance. But as soon as it had come, it disappeared and was replaced with the cold eyes of the Red Rider.

"Let's go," he said, nudging her along again.

Several minutes later, Aletheia was in front of Galbatorix. He was sitting haughtily in his mighty throne, drumming his fingers impatiently on the armrests. Aletheia's gaze passed over the King and rested on a young girl standing less than a few feet away from him. She would've been pretty if she hadn't held a cruel sneer on her face. She had wavy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and a delicate frame. The way the girl's hair rested on her shoulders seemed very familiar to Aletheia. With a slight gasp, she recognized the girl's small frame as the one she had encountered in front of Aberon's gates: the Green Rider.

But her thoughts were interrupted by Galbatorix's cruel voice. "My guards have told me you have come to a decision," he supplied.

She nodded silently as she approached his throne.

She spoke with a steady and proud voice and held her head up high. "I have indeed come to a decision, my Lord."

As she said 'my Lord', he visibly brightened. But his obvious glee slipped from his face as she continued.

"I know that if I do not join you, that you'll torture and kill my dragon," she said softly. "But I would rather Tearlach and I die a thousand deaths than join you."

Galbatorix stared at her for a moment before glancing to his left and speaking with the girl. She nodded gravely before she approached Aletheia and grabbed her right arm in a forceful grip. Aletheia briefly mused that she'd have a myriad of bruises at the end of the day before the girl who looked no older than her lead her out of the throne room with Murtagh following.

They traveled in silence as the girl threw Aletheia into a room not too far from the throne room. Aletheia looked around and saw that it was almost as nice as her room in Aberon. But blood-red curtains graced the windows and black linens fell gently on the canopy bed.

She scoffed as she picked herself up from the hard floor. "You think setting me up in a nice room will change my mind?"

For the first time, Aletheia heard the girl speak. Her voice matched her cruel countenance as she sneered at her. "The King wants us to keep an eye on you during your stay in the castle. Those pitiful guards down there are worthless and have no chance against a Rider. Even against one as weak as you," she spat.

"Oh, so this is just another cell for me to be imprisoned in?"

Murtagh smiled bitterly at this. "Not quite. You will be escorted by either me or Cadhla to and from dinner with the King. He also wants to see you spar with Cadhla and I."

Aletheia narrowed her eyes at him. "I thought I was to be killed after defying your _King_," she said, with a sarcastic edge in her voice.

The girl laughed a cold, mirthless laugh. "My King will not take no for an answer. So he wishes to see your – skill," she said, roaming her cold eyes over Aletheia's body in distaste.

As they turned to leave, Murtagh turned around. "Our rooms border yours. So it'd be unwise to try anything foolish, Aletheia."

With that, the girl and Murtagh left the room, leaving her alone.

* * *

For the next few days, Aletheia sat isolated in her room, with only the servants as fleeting company when they came in to bring her food. But that was rectified on the third morning of her imprisonment. Galbatorix strode in with Cadhla in tow. He had a frighteningly sinister look on his face as he sat down across from her on her bed.

Aletheia glared at him as she waited for him to speak. She cocked an eyebrow as the minutes went by with everyone staring at her in silence. She sighed, annoyed, and broke the silence.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" she said, rolling her eyes at the visitors.

Galbatorix smiled wickedly as he motioned for Cadhla to come forward.

"Today, you will spar with Murtagh and Cadhla," he said coldly. "But before you do, I wish to give you a warning about my dear Cadhla."

Aletheia's eyes flicked to Cadhla briefly before returning to Galbatorix. Her stomach clenched tightly. _This can't be good._

"You see, people seem to underestimate Cadhla's power and skill because she is a girl," he said. "But, I am here to tell you that an assumption as preposterous as that one would be fatal to you, Aletheia."

"Why is that?" Aletheia inquired, pursing her lips.

Galbatorix smiled as he put an almost fatherlyarm around Cadhla's shoulders. "Because Cadhla is my niece."

Aletheia stared at them for a moment. They _did_ look alike. They both had the same cold, almond shaped eyes and they both had the ability to scare Aletheia with just a mere curl of the lip.

"I'm sure you're curious as to how your friend Maria came into my service?" he supplied, seemingly changing the subject.

Aletheia blinked. _What does Maria have to do with this?_

"Ah, my dear. Your friend Maria has everything to do with this," he said. Aletheia narrowed her eyes at him as she realized he read her mind.

"How?" she asked.

"Maria is Cadhla's sister," he said, gauging her reaction. Aletheia's mouth dropped open as she realized what that meant: Maria is Galbatorix's niece as well.

"Liar," she muttered. Before he retorted, he whispered something to Cadhla and she left the room.

"Oh?" he sneered. "A liar, am I? Her lowlife father was my brother which makes Maria and her '_kidnapped_' sister my nieces. I assume that she told you that her parents died two years ago after her sister, Cadhla, disappeared?"

Aletheia nodded mutely. He laughed icily. "Well, you see, Cadhla killed their parents two years ago and I took Cadhla under my wing. Maria willingly stayed at the castle in order to be a spy for me. It's quite interesting to see how easily the weak are persuaded with power and prestige. Shall I explain?"

Aletheia did not answer, yet he continued as if she had said 'yes'.

"Aberon's failure of a King agreed to take them and their parents under his protection after I issued a warrant for my brother and his wife's arrest when Cadhla was born. Yet, the girls were not as protected as their parents believed. Several months before they killed their parents, Maria and Cadhla were young and naïve girls living in Aberon. I mentally contacted Cadhla, the older of the two girls, two and a half years ago and offered her a chance to fulfill her destiny by becoming a Rider for me. She naturally jumped at the chance to leave her dirty poor parents and serve me. Cadhla also contacted her sister at Aberon castle and offered her a chance to join me. Anxious to please her older sister, Maria ardently agreed."

At this, Aletheia was shaking her head in disbelief, muttering "liar".

"Be silent girl!" he yelled, making her fall silent. "In order to get Cadhla away from Aberon, I sent my faithful Urgals to Aberon and had them ransack their parent's house and kill them. If I remember correctly, Cadhla helped them murder her parents," he said with a malicious grin. "Then the Urgals took Cadhla with them and brought her here to Uru'bean. It took two years for the last egg to hatch for Cadhla. So I personally trained her until it finally hatched."

Aletheia was astounded. _Maria and Cadhla are his nieces?_ She clinched her eyes shut as Maria's full betrayal hit her, making her feel sickeningly dizzy. After all this time, she had thought Maria to be an ordinary handmaiden. _But Maria is probably hiding some special power or skill until the time is right_, she thought bitterly. _Cadhla can't be too strong – not as strong as Murtagh._

As if reading her mind, he said "As I said before: Do not misunderstand Cadhla. Just because she is a girl does not make her any less powerful than Murtagh or I. In fact, she is the spitting image of me. She is merciless, extremely powerful, and cruel. I can confidently say that she is twice the Rider Murtagh will ever be. Even though he serves me, he did not agree to it willingly. I had to threaten to tear his dear brother to pieces if he did not agree."

Aletheia felt tears burning behind her eyes. But she wouldn't let them fall in _his_ presence. So she bit back a soft sob and waited in silence for Galbatorix to leave.

Seeing that he had gotten to Aletheia, as he had planned, he smirked, satisfied, as he stood from the bed and left Aletheia alone.

As soon as he was gone, she let the tears roll down her flushed cheeks. She didn't know exactly why she was crying. She knew that Maria had betrayed her. But that didn't stop her from feeling even more betrayed by the fact that Maria had lied to her about her sister's disappearance.

Still in her night clothes, Aletheia sighed, rubbing the tears from her face as she crawled under the sheets. She hiccupped as she turned over, hoping to push the horrifying news from her head with some sleep.

* * *

Several hours later, she was awoken someone roughly shaking her awake. She turned and saw Murtagh staring down at her.

"Get dressed, now," he said as soon as she had woken up.

"Excuse me?" she said, looking at him. "I'm not getting dressed when you're in here."

His lips curled slightly as he returned her stare. "Then perhaps I should send for Cadhla."

Scowling deeply, Aletheia threw the black comforter off and shoved Murtagh out of the way as she went to the wardrobe and picked out black leggings and a black tunic. She turned to him and saw him staring at her.

"Turn around, now," she said dangerously. Shrugging, he turned towards the door. As soon as she pulled her black boots on, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and looked expectantly at him.

"So? What was the reason for you waking me up, oh powerful Rider?" she mocked.

At this, he walked up to her quickly and said in a dangerously quiet voice, "I can make your life a lot easier here if you would just cooperate and play nice."

"Play nice?" she said loudly. "How do you expect me to 'play nice' while I am kept here against my will? How do you expect me to 'play nice' when I'm staring into the face of the man who tried to kidnap me?"

Murtagh opened his mouth to reply angrily, but decided against it. "Let's go." Grabbing her arm, he led her out of her room and down the hall.

"Let go of me!" she yelled.

"If you escape or cause any trouble around the castle, I will be punished," he said in a low voice.

Aletheia wrenched her arm from his grasp. "Who cares?"

As she followed Murtagh, she scanned the naked walls of Uru'bean castle. None of the walls were adorned with tapestries, giving the castle a sterile look. Aletheia shook her head, muttering, "cold heart, cold home."

Within a few minutes, Murtagh led Aletheia into a large room. Enormous windows were cut into the walls, allowing the beautiful sun to flood the room. In the middle of the room rested a large blue carpet. Swords, daggers, sticks, and armor lined the walls of the room. It was a sparring room.

A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, with lit ivory candles. Aletheia marveled at the way the sun hit the crystal droplets, sending rainbow reflections across the room.

"I see you like my chandelier," a cold voice said from behind. Aletheia whirled around and saw Galbatorix walking towards them with Cadhla and his servants in tow. He was wearing lavish emerald robes and a golden bejeweled crown rested on his balding head.

"It's probably the only pure thing in this castle," she said defiantly.

Choosing to ignore her comment, he brushed past her and sat in a plush chair on the side of the carpet. After he was settled, he called for Cadhla to bring Aletheia her orange sword.

Cadhla walked up to her and thrust Aletheia's sword into her hand.

"You will be sparring with Murtagh first," Cadhla said curtly.

Aletheia turned towards Murtagh and heaved a deep breath. She watched as he slowly unsheathed his crimson blade. They both blocked their blades. As he walked towards her slowly he kept a steady stare with her.

"This is Zar'roc," he muttered softly. "Do you know what it means?"

Aletheia shook her head slightly.

"It means Misery," he said loudly as he lifted his sword with lightning speed, surprising her. Aletheia gasped sharply as she brought her blade up to meet Murtagh's. Spinning her blade intricately, Aletheia swiped at Murtagh's middle, which he blocked easily.

For thirty minutes, they exchanged intense blows. They would've continued if Galbatorix hadn't halted the battle. As they lowered their swords, Aletheia felt hope rise in the depths of her soul. She hadn't fallen to Murtagh like she had before. If fighting against Murtagh was this easy, then Cadhla shouldn't be any harder.

"Murtagh, step aside, and let my niece take a _stab_ at her," Galbatorix said wickedly, emphasizing the word 'stab'. Murtagh glanced at Galbatorix quickly, before nodding and walking to the side.

"No magic, Cadhla," Galbatorix warned.

As Cadhla walked up to Aletheia, she felt her previous confidence melt away instantly. She locked eyes with Cadhla and saw a thirst for blood brewing in her eyes. Fear gripped her as she took a step back, trying to keep some space between her and Cadhla.

She cursed herself as Cadhla attacked. As Cadhla swung her blade at Aletheia, it was all she could do to block the swing. Galbatorix's words came back to her as she barely blocked another one of Cadhla's mighty blows: "_she is the spitting image of me. She is merciless, extremely powerful, and cruel. I can confidently say that she is twice the Rider Murtagh will ever be"._

Fighting against Cadhla taught Aletheia more than she cared to admit. It was the fiercest battle she had ever fought in – and it was merely a sparring session. Cadhla was wearing her down with each thrust and swing of her blade. _Galbatorix was right! She is more powerful than Murtagh! _

As her thoughts fully returned to the battle at hand, she saw Cadhla's emerald blade coming towards her with inhuman speed. Aletheia twisted to the right, as it came within centimeters of her stomach. But as she faced forward again, she felt excruciating pain cut through her stomach, making her double over and scream in pain. She grabbed her stomach with her left hand, dropping her sword from her right. When she pulled her hand away from her stomach, she saw that it was drenched in her blood. Tears sprang to her eyes as she fully collapsed on the floor.

Smirking with satisfaction, Cadhla took a cloth out of her pocket and wiped Theia's blood off her blade. She threw it at Aletheia as she walked away.

Aletheia curled up into a fetal position as she felt the pain spread through her entire body. Remembering her mother's earlier lessons, she put both hands on the large wound and muttered several healing spells. The wound closed over and the pain diminished slightly. She then lay back down on the carpet as she felt the magic take its toll on her energy. As she lay there, she could faintly hear Galbatorix tell Murtagh to take her to the healing ward.

She felt Murtagh grip her arms tightly, slowly pulling her up. He put her arm around his shoulders as he led her towards the healing ward. Feeling his arm around her waist, she tried to push him away. But he kept a firm grip on her waist. As Murtagh guided her, Aletheia kept slipping in and out of consciousness. She was sure she was going to die. In fact, she willed it to happen; the pain that still coursed through her body was too much to bear.

As she felt herself being laid down on a soft bed, she let herself be consumed by darkness.

* * *

Miles away, Tearlach glanced around the forest of Du Weldenvarden and felt a wave of darkness overcome him as he thought,_Theia would've loved this._

Saphira, sensing his depression, nuzzled him. _She **will** love this when we return with her upon your back._

As Tearlach turned to look at Saphira, he let out an almighty roar as something sliced through his middle. Everyone turned towards Tearlach and saw him gritting his ivory teeth in pain.

_Tear! What's wrong?_ Saphira asked worriedly.

_Theia! She's hurt!_

With that, Tearlach turned from the group and hurried towards the edge of the forest. He didn't care about Queen Islanzadi or the Varden right now. All he cared about was rescuing his Rider – and he would do it with or without their help.

As he flew into the crisp air, he heard Saphira yell_, Tearlach! No!

* * *

_

Eek. Sorry about the wait, everyone. I just got back from Spring Break yesterday and I was busy as a mother for the whole Break. So, here's chapter 11 – extremely late, I know. I hope it's better than the last one.

Review Replies:

**Emerald Tiara**: Yeah, you were right. I could never make Aletheia join him.

**Miyo Sato-hi**: Hope that answers your questions. Well, it's not like she'll be his captive forever : ) .

**Saucy Dog:** Thanks! You'll just have to wait and see how she gets rescued.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 A Hope Renewed

A day after being wounded by Cadhla's unblocked blade, Aletheia awoke to the smell of lavender in the air. Her eyes fluttered open and she found herself lying in her room with a woman by her side. She sat up immediately. A wave of nausea hit her causing her to mentally kick herself for sitting up too quickly. She groaned, closing her eyes tightly, as she felt herself being pushed back down. Her muscles tensed as she tried to resist the cool hands on her arms.

"There, there, girl," the woman next to her said in a soothing voice. Aletheia relaxed at the woman's soft voice, her back easing comfortably into the fluffy sheets. Her gaze turned to the woman who was bent over steaming water in a porcelain basin. She had matted brunette hair that was pulled into a bun. The woman's face was squinted in concentration, showing numerous wrinkles etched on her face. Theia took in the lady's dress, which would have been a brilliant white had it not been sullied by ebony ink spots and layers of dust and dirt.

"How long have I been asleep?" Theia asked, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position against her pillows.

Not looking up from the basin, the woman replied, "just a day, dear."

Theia nodded mutely as she watched the woman sprinkle bits of lavender into the steaming water. She then took a bottle filled with a dense rusty substance and poured its entire contents into the bowl. The previously relaxing smell of lavender transformed into foul stench as it reached Theia's nose. Theia made a small sound of protest and grimaced, causing the lady to look up from her work. The woman smiled knowingly before she put a white washcloth into the basin and pulled it out, wringing out the liquid.

The woman lifted Theia's shirt to her ribs and took off her bandages to reveal a hideous gash across her midsection. Theia winced as the woman soaked her wound in the foul substance.

"It will help heal the wound in less than a week," the woman, whom Theia assumed was a healer, explained.

Aletheia put her head against the headboard as she let her thoughts drift to Cadhla. She had never fought against someone that powerful and malicious. _How could she not block her blade? That evil wench! _However, despite Cadhla's malevolent intentions, Aletheia couldn't help but grudgingly admire Cadhla's skill. Not even her father, who she knew to be one of the strongest men alive, could have beaten Cadhla. But then again, her father never cheated in a battle. He had always taught her to not take an underhanded approach to her opponent. His words floated back to her: "_Cheating is a tactic used by the weakest of fighters. They use it as a substitution for their lack of technique_." She remembered rolling her eyes at his comment. _But how can I not? It seems foolish to not think and fight like my opponent. If it meant the difference between life and death, I would rather take a low blow and survive than play by the rules and get myself killed._ The more she thought about it, the more she convinced herself that being cunning and deceitful in a battle, like Cadhla, would serve her purpose better than acting too noble for sneaky attacks.

She sighed tiredly as she let the healer change her bandages.

* * *

Two days later Aletheia pushed herself from her bed and got dressed. She was tired of lying around waiting for Galbatorix or Cadhla to venture in and torture her with betrayal and hate. _Besides,_ she thought as she felt her stomach growl, _I'm starving. _

Walking down the deserted hallway, she glanced around her wondering where her "guard" was. She shrugged as she wandered through the halls. Her thoughts drifted to Tearlach, wondering if Galbatorix had hurt him. She briefly wondered if she could sneak around the castle to find the dragonhold. But her current hunger got the best of her. Several moments later, she found herself in a familiar hall. She recognized it as the hall outside of the sparring room. She was about to turn from the doors when she heard metal clashing rapidly. The door opened suddenly as a couple of servants walked out of the room, startling her. They paid her no mind as they walked towards a dark hallway. Pulling the door open, she walked into the bright room and found Cadhla and Murtagh sparring together. Judging by the way the two Imperial Riders were glaring at each other, they were extremely angry with each other. Aletheia's eyes left the battle and landed on Galbatorix who looked thoroughly pleased at the confrontation.

With her presence unknown, Aletheia hid behind a stone column and watched the two Riders fight. She felt her jaw drop as she watched the Riders utter spells and fight with a speed she had never seen before. While Murtagh bombarded Cadhla with a series of devastating blows, he would utter several spells in succession – the same went for Cadhla. Aletheia let a small smile slip across her lips as she watched Cadhla stumble from a swipe at her ankles. But something caught her attention as she examined their fight: they never used wordless magic. Wordless magic was one of the first things her mother taught her after she got the basic rules of magic down. Had Galbatorix not taught them that technique? It seemed rather foolish not to. But then her mother also taught her not to reveal this talent unless she was in dire need of a surprise attack, for it took a huge toll on her energy.

Aletheia was shaken out of her reverie as she heard Cadhla speak.

"I see you're not holding back, Murtagh," she spat breathlessly as she blocked a furious blow at her neck. "Why? Is it because that Varden wench isn't your opponent?"

Murtagh responded with a growl as he grabbed Cadhla's left wrist and twisted it behind her back, rendering her unable to retaliate immediately. She yelped painfully as she wrenched her wrist free, kicking him in his right shin.

The nasty grin she had on her face never faltered. "I see that I struck a nerve, Murtagh," she said sweetly, spinning her emerald blade in her hand before stabbing it towards Murtagh's stomach.

Not responding, Murtagh pointed Zar'roc at Cadhla briefly and yelled, "thrysta!" Zar'roc glowed a bright crimson as the spell shot from the blade toward Cadhla, sending her into the air. Aletheia gasped softly. She had never seen someone use their sword as a facilitator for a spell. She watched in satisfaction as Cadhla landed heavily on her back with a loud grunt.

Running towards her, Murtagh pointed Zar'roc at her neck and bent his face down to hers. Aletheia saw him mutter something furiously in Cadhla's ear. She saw Cadhla smile evilly and knew Cadhla was about to retaliate. Forgetting her place, Aletheia yelled, "watch out!" But as Murtagh glanced up at Aletheia, Cadhla took the opportunity to kick Murtagh in the groin, sending him to his knees in glaring pain.

Aletheia bit her lip, knowing she had caused it. She felt her stomach clench in guilt before she shook her head. _Why do I care? He works for the Empire._

As she was about to leave the room, she felt invisible hands clench her arms tightly. She spun around to see Galbatorix's right hand outstretched toward her, his palm glowing brightly.

Cursing herself, she allowed Galbatorix to pull her towards him. She saw Cadhla strut towards Galbatorix's side while Murtagh was still kneeling on the ground in pain.

"I see you felt it necessary to warn my Rider of danger," Galbatorix sneered. "How touching."

Aletheia glared at him. Beside him, Cadhla smirked knowingly, eyeing Aletheia's blushing cheeks.

Looking past Aletheia, Galbatorix called for Murtagh. "Get up, boy. I want you to escort Aletheia back to her room," he snapped. When Murtagh didn't immediately rise, Galbatorix growled in frustration as he stood abruptly from his chair. Facing his right palm towards Murtagh, he yelled, "brisingr!" Aletheia watched in disgust as Murtagh fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

"I said, get up NOW!" Galbatorix yelled, amidst the snickering among his servants and Cadhla.

Aletheia felt the sudden urge to run over and help him but stopped herself suddenly. Although she sympathized with Murtagh, she did not want to put herself in the same position as him; so she stayed still.

Murtagh slowly stood. Aletheia watched as he stood still for a moment before heaving a deep breath and walking towards them. His face was defiant and stony – not wanting to show the real pain he felt inside. Their eyes locked and Aletheia felt a small understanding pass between them. When he approached her, Aletheia noticed he didn't grab her arm like he used to. _He's probably too weak to do it right now_, she mused as she followed Murtagh out of the room silently. She didn't trust herself to look back at Galbatorix or Cadhla. She knew she'd say something she'd regret.

As they walked towards her room in silence, Aletheia's stomach growled loudly. She stopped suddenly, covering her stomach. She knew this was a bad time to ask Murtagh to get her something to eat, so she kept quiet. But he turned around with an amused look on his face.

"Hungry?" he inquired.

Aletheia nodded mutely.

Murtagh sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose as he clinched his eyes shut. Aletheia assumed he was trying to decide whether or not to disobey Galbatorix's orders. Nodding to himself, he turned to the left and led Aletheia down the adjacent hall. Aletheia made a mental note to memorize this path for future reference. _I have a feeling I'll be here for a while_, she thought bitterly.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Murtagh nodded in return as he pushed open a wooden door to reveal a large kitchen. As soon as she laid her eyes on the kitchen she felt her stomach clench hungrily. She wandered around the magnificent kitchen, trying to find something to fix herself.

Aletheia found a cupboard and opened the creaking door to reveal a myriad of different fruits, vegetables and bread on its numerous shelves. She made a quiet sound of glee at the sight of the food as she gathered several pieces of fruit and some bread. She turned to see Murtagh staring at her in amusement.

"You act like you've never seen food before," he said, sitting across from her at a small table.

She glared at him before taking a knife and viciously slicing an apple in half. She glanced up at him as she did this. His brow creased before he cracked his first genuine smile in her presence. Aletheia followed suit as she took a bite out of the apple.

She ate in silence, glad to have some food in her stomach. As she ate, she took frequent glances at Murtagh. He seemed lost in his thoughts and would occasionally grimace as he shifted in his seat. Aletheia blushed crimson as she remembered his "injury".

"Sorry," she said softly. In spite of herself, she let her previous feeling of guilt wash over her.

Murtagh looked up at her. "Don't worry about it," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I wouldn't have been prepared for that attack either way. Besides," he added, his eyes twinkling uncharacteristically, "you were just trying to help me."

Aletheia broke their eye contact as she felt herself blush deeper – if that was possible. She mumbled something incoherent about not wanting to help _him_ before stuffing some bread in her mouth. Something stirred in her midsection as she glanced at him again, but she brushed it aside. But in the back of her mind, she recognized it as the same sensation she had felt in Eragon's presence. Her heart clenched at this. Eragon. Her family. She desperately wanted to be with them. But that would never happen. Her family was probably in Ellesmera at that moment. They wouldn't risk rescuing her. She couldn't blame them. She knew that it'd be a huge risk. Her heart fell as she realized she'd be imprisoned in Uru'bean for a very long time. She knew Galbatorix would not take no for answer – it was only a matter of time before Galbatorix would take her before her dragon and make her watch him torture Tearlach until she relented. She felt dizzy at this thought and tried to push it from her mind.

Aletheia looked at Murtagh and saw him watching her closely. "What?" she spat, remembering her previous hostility towards him.

He blinked before shaking his head. "Nothing," he sneered. She felt a bitter smile cross her lips. _Things are back to normal._

Soon after, Aletheia finished eating and stuffed a few fruits into her pockets. She stood from the table and waited for Murtagh to lead the way back to her room. He soon followed suit and led her back to her quarters. In the silence, Aletheia stared at the back of Murtagh's head. She didn't know a lot about him. Part of her wanted to keep it that way. _After all, he's the enemy_. But the other part of her found him extremely intriguing, not to mention handsome. _Theia!_ She scolded herself. _He's no friend of yours. He's the enemy!_

It was only a few moments later that she realized that she had forgotten to block her emotions. She blanched, feeling her stomach twist in knots. _Gods! No! _But if he had heard any of her thoughts or emotions, he didn't show it. He continued on his way until he reached her door. He opened it for her and she walked in. But just as she was about to shut the door behind her, Murtagh slipped in with a small glance behind him. She was about to protest at his actions but he covered her mouth and shut the door silently.

He muttered a few spells toward the door and turned towards her with a grim expression on his face. Aletheia stared at him incredulously. "What in Alagaesia are you doing?" she said loudly.

"Look, I think it's best that you sit down, Aletheia," he said, indicating her bed.

She eyed him suspiciously before obliging and settling down on her bed. Murtagh sat across from her.

"Aletheia, I am a Rider for the Empire," he said in a low voice, "you know this."

"Okay?" she said, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Galbatorix has made me swear fealty to him in the Ancient Language," he said distantly. "He has also made me swear to him that I would not reveal any of his plans to our enemies."

Aletheia blinked in confusion. _What is he talking about?_

"When I was sitting across from you in the kitchen, I felt all of your emotions," he said bluntly, watching her. She felt her heart drop. _Oh no._

"I know you want to be with your family and Eragon," he said, sounding somewhat bitter. "Believe me. I know exactly how you feel. I want to help you. But I can't. I am bound by the Ancient Language."

Aletheia continued to stare at him. Murtagh leaned forward, coming within an inch of her face and whispered, "Things are not as they seem here. The King will say many things to get you to relent to him. He did the same to me when I was first captured. But I do not want you to make the same mistake I did."

"And what is that?" Aletheia asked.

"Believing him," Murtagh whispered.

Aletheia rolled her eyes. "I know not to believe him, Murtagh," she scoffed. "I'm not blind."

"You sure seemed to believe everything he fed you about your dragon," he said softly, not moving his face from hers.

It took a few moments for his words to sink in. "He doesn't have Tearlach?"

Murtagh shook his head, leaning back. "No, he doesn't. I didn't know about this until I spoke with my dragon earlier today," he said.

"Wait," Aletheia said slowly. "Why should I believe you? You said yourself that Galbatorix made you swear not to tell me anything."

Murtagh sighed, standing from the bed and walking to her door. He opened it and turned towards her. "He made me swear not to tell the _enemy_ anything about his plans," he said in the Ancient Language. He paused, staring at her. "You, Aletheia, are not my enemy." With that, Murtagh left the room, leaving Aletheia both elated and confused at the same time.

* * *

As soon as Tearlach left Ellesmera and took to the sky, he felt several familiar presences in his mind. He turned his brilliant orange head and saw several masses flying towards him. He felt joy course through him as he realized he would not fight for Aletheia alone. Saphira, with Eragon on her back, was gaining on him; As well as Gunther, Adelbert, and Anassa with their respective Riders.

As Saphira caught up with him, he felt determination flood through their connection.

_We're with you, Tearlach_. Saphira said softly.

He sent a wave of gratitude to everyone around him. _I know_.

* * *

Three days had passed since they had fled the forest of Du Weldenvarden. They were finally coming upon Uru'bean castle. The menacing spires stabbed the sky as the sun descended beyond the horizon. Tearlach felt something stir in his stomach as he realized that everything would change tonight.

* * *

Alone in her room, Aletheia walked out onto the balcony and watched the sun set. A cool, familiar breeze brushed her cheeks as she leaned against the stone railing. Her mood had lifted slightly when Murtagh told her that Tearlach was free. But her uncertainty about Murtagh overpowered her elation. She knew that Murtagh had unwillingly joined Galbatorix, but she didn't know that there was still a little bit of decency left in him. Today at the sparring session between Cadhla and Murtagh, Aletheia had realized that Murtagh did not want to hurt her during _their_ sparring session. That's why she got by so easily. _I still need more training. If I ever get out of here, I'm going to train harder. When I face Cadhla in the Last Battle, I will be ready. I will._

Pushing herself off the railing, she went back to her room and slipped into cotton leggings for bed. _Maybe my imprisonment here won't be as bad as I thought if I stick close to Murtagh, _she thought bitterly as she climbed into bed.

But just as she was about to lay her head down, Murtagh burst into her room. Outside of her room, she could see people running passed her door, yelling. He grabbed her arm and pulled her out of bed without a word.

"Where are we going?" she yelled over the din.

"To the sparring room to get your sword," he called back to her.

"Why?"

He didn't answer as he led her to the sparring room. They burst through the doors and Aletheia ran to get her sword from the hooks on the side wall. She ran back to Murtagh wanting answers.

"What's going on?" she demanded.

Murtagh looked at her. "Your family is approaching Uru'bean," he said. "I have been ordered to take you to the King."

"What?" she screamed at him. "After everything you said to me this afternoon? I thought you wanted to help me? Help me escape!"

But he shook his head. "I can't. The King has given me _specific_ orders."

"So why do I need my sword?" she asked fiercely, swinging it to the side.

Murtagh looked down, speechless.

"Well?" Aletheia demanded loudly.

"He wants to give them your sword so they think you are dead," Murtagh said mumbled.

"I can't believe you!" Aletheia screamed. "I should've known not to believe you this afternoon! Galbatorix probably put you up to that little stunt! Didn't he? _How weak and blind do we think we can make the Varden wench?"_

But Murtagh was shaking is head. "No, Theia, please."

"Don't call me Theia," she spat angrily, shoving him. "Only my _friends_ and _family_ can call me that. If you want to take me to your King, you'll have to fight me. Otherwise, I'll find my own way out of the castle." At this she raised her sword and took a battle stance across from him, not bothering to block her blade.

Murtagh blinked, a shadow of hurt crossing his eyes. His eyes searched around frantically. He clenched his teeth as if he was having an internal battle. He nodded to himself, muttering "yes, yes", before he grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the door.

"What are you doing?" she yelled. "Are you going mad?"

Murtagh stopped, spinning around to face her. "I'm helping you escape."

Aletheia narrowed her eyes at him. "How do I know you're not lying to me?"

He rolled his eyes impatiently and repeated himself in the Ancient Language.

Satisfied, Aletheia ran out of the room, leaving Murtagh to catch up to her. As she ran down a hallway Murtagh grabbed her arm and shook his head. "Galbatorix is looking for you," he said. "I'll take you through a hidden way. Thorn and I will fly you to them."

Aletheia nodded curtly, following him down a hallway. She briefly wondered how he was managing to defy the King's orders, but that didn't seem very important to her right now. Several moments later, Murtagh stopped beside a tapestry. It seemed out of place in the sterile castle. Aletheia soon found out why: Murtagh pulled it back to reveal a secret passageway. He pushed her in the passageway and pulled the tapestry back in place. It was pitch black in the hallway, but that was soon rectified as torches lit instantaneously. Aletheia took off in a run down the hall with Murtagh in tow. She saw light at the end of the hallway and she sped up her run.

As she crossed the threshold, she found herself in a dragonhold. She glanced around and saw an enormous crimson dragon standing next to a window with a saddle attached to his back. Aletheia glared at the dragon, remembering him to be the one who injured Tearlach so severely. But she shook her head. _There's no time for that._

Murtagh ran towards Thorn, forgetting Aletheia behind him. As he climbed onto Thorn's back, Thorn snorted and a cold voice reached his ears.

"My, my, my."

Murtagh turned to face Galbatorix standing next to Aletheia gripping her right arm tightly. Cadhla had her emerald blade pressed against Aletheia's neck cutting off her breathing.

Aletheia coughed, trying to fight against Cadhla's grip. Galbatorix turned towards her and grabbed her chin. "You are not going anywhere, my dear."

* * *

So, Murtagh's really not THAT bad. :) This change may have seemed abrupt, but I didn't want to keep Aletheia imprisoned for much longer (which would've been required if I was to develop the civility towards each other further).

Next chapter: Aletheia's escape.

Thank you so much for the reviews! I'd like to see more people reviewing, though - I know more people are reading this! lol.

So PLEASE review!

**Review Replies:**

**Miy_U_ Sato-Hi**: I'm extremely sorry for misspelling your name. And don't worry about Cadhla – I have something special planned out for her : )

**Super-hero fan**: Thanks. Yeah, Cadhla is a better with a sword than Theia. But that will be rectified for the Last Battle.

**Ariel32**: Thanks so much! But I haven't fully decided about who she'll fall in love with. I have fans for both pairings, so either way I'm going to disappoint someone, lol. Although, I like hinting at both pairings.

**Emerald Tiara**: uhh, I don't know if dragons ever go mad – were you referring to Tearlach's sudden flight? Because that was out of fear and concern for his Rider.

**Untamedspiral**: Does the Murtagh/Cadhla sparring scene answer your question: )


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 A Hope Renewed

A/N: Sorry about the delay. I haven't been able to upload the chapter because the site keeps on timing it out. Grr. I would've had it up on Saturday, but fanfiction is being stupid.

Disclaimer: None of this is mine. I keep forgetting to put this thing in here

* * *

As she entered the dragonhold she knew something wasn't right. She paused at the threshold, looking around, as Murtagh ran towards Thorn and climbed into the saddle. Aletheia took a step forward but was stopped by a cold hand on her arm and a green blade swinging to her neck. Aletheia cringed in pain and defeat as she glanced to her right and saw Galbatorix glaring at Murtagh. 

"I knew you had a certain weakness for this girl, Murtagh, but I never thought you'd disobey my strict orders," Galbatorix hissed.

Aletheia saw Murtagh wince at Galbatorix's tone.

"But, I am willing to forgive you," Galbatorix said, letting go of Aletheia's arm. "Not forget, but forgive." She didn't like the tone of his voice. It sounded as if his forgiveness was conditional. She soon found out how conditional it was.

Aletheia watched as Galbatorix walked to Thorn's side, taking out his glowing black sword. She didn't have time to close her eyes as Galbatorix stabbed Thorn in his belly. Aletheia thought she was going to go deaf as Thorn let out an almighty roar of pain. Murtagh yelled in protest and anger as he slid off his dragon and tried to tend to his wound. But Galbatorix gripped his throat and threw him against the stone wall, bringing his face within inches of Murtagh's.

"If you ever defy me again, I will make sure your dragon dies a painful death after we win this war. Understood?" Galbatorix hissed.

Murtagh nodded his head. But that didn't prevent him from glaring daggers at the King. Galbatorix nodded in satisfaction as he allowed Murtagh to heal Thorn, who was bleeding profusely.

Galbatorix then turned to Aletheia with an evil gleam in his eyes. "Murtagh and Cadhla, I would like you to take Aletheia back to her room. I will deal with her little rescue party myself," he said. "And Murtagh, Cadhla will make sure you do not disobey me again." With that, Galbatorix left the dragonhold without so much as a glance.

Aletheia tried to resist Cadhla's hold on her as she watched Murtagh turn from Thorn's healed wound. Murtagh nodded to Cadhla as he walked right passed Aletheia and through the tunnel. Cadhla pushed Aletheia along, pointing the tip of her blade against her back.

While they walked in silence, Aletheia was trying frantically to devise a plan to get out of here. She knew Murtagh was of no use now, so she had to do it herself. It was now or never.

As they made it back to her room, Cadhla pushed her into her room and threw Aletheia's orange sword to Murtagh, who wouldn't meet her eyes. Aletheia tried to catch his eye as Cadhla was casting numerous spells around her room. Finally, their eyes met and a silent understanding passed between them. Aletheia knew what she had to do.

As Cadhla turned her back on her, Aletheia walked up to Murtagh and punched him in the stomach, making him keel over. Taking her chance, Aletheia snatched her sword from Murtagh and held it against his neck. Cadhla turned around in surprise and unsheathed her blade in response.

Aletheia pressed her blade against his neck, pulling him with her towards the door.

"Don't move. Or I'll cut his throat," Aletheia threatened.

Cadhla smirked. "Where do you think you're going? Surely you do not believe you can just walk out of the castle without our spellcasters noticing you?"

Aletheia just shrugged in return. "I'll take my chances."

But Cadhla wasn't buying it. "I won't let you," she said, with a menacing gleam in her eyes. "I won't let you out of this room. Neither will Murtagh now that his dragon's life is on the line."

Aletheia tried to let out a mirthless laugh and was surprised to hear the coldness in her laugh. "Does it look like Murtagh's in any position to prevent me from leaving? As I see it, I have his life in my hands," she said, pressing the blade harder into his neck, causing blood to stream out. Cadhla stopped smiling.

"What now?" Cadhla asked impatiently, sheathing her blade and folding her arms. "Though I must admit: I'm a little surprised. I never took you for an underhanded Rider. This almost seems like something _I_ would do."

"You'll find that you don't know much about me, Cadhla," Aletheia said, ignoring the girl's last statement. "Now, I want you to listen to me very closely. Under no circumstances are you to contact Galbatorix. Understood?"

Cadhla laughed coldly. "How do you know I haven't already contacted him? Hm?"

Aletheia narrowed her eyes. "Because, those spells you were casting prevent everyone from establishing a mental contact with anyone – even you. I know much more about the Ancient Language than you do, Cadhla."

The smirk Cadhla held on her pale face slid off immediately. "Fine. What next?"

Seeing that she had everything under control, Aletheia let off some of the pressure from Murtagh's neck. Then she turned her gaze to the Green Rider as she started inching toward the door with Murtagh.

"You will not follow us. I'm keeping him with me to ensure that you keep your word. If I find out that you have contacted Galbatorix, I won't hesitate to kill him. Then you'll have to answer to your Uncle why he is a Rider short," Aletheia said, smiling. "Even _you_ won't escape his wrath."

Cadhla winced at the thought of being at the receiving end of her Uncle's fury then nodded. She watched as Aletheia led Murtagh out of the door with her sword pointed to his back. When he tried to resist, she increased the pressure on his back. "Let's go."

With one last glance at Cadhla, Aletheia slipped out of the door, leading Murtagh. As soon as they were out of the door, they were running down the hall. While they were running Aletheia thought it necessary to offer her apologies.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you back there. But it was necessary," she said, glancing at Murtagh's running form beside her. He nodded his understanding.

"Where are they?" Aletheia asked as Murtagh led her down a myriad of different hallways.

"They're at the gates," he said, breathless. "Lead me into the dragonhold at sword-point and threaten to kill me if Thorn doesn't fly you there. Cadhla's dragon will have returned from his daily hunting, so it's best if he thinks I'm your captive."

Aletheia sighed heavily, wondering if they'd be able to pull it off as they approached the dragonhold. Murtagh then stood in front of her and indicated that she should put the blade to his neck. As soon as she did, Murtagh pushed open the door and dramatically stumbled in. Thorn and the Green dragon were tearing at a carcass on the floor when they came in. Thorn glanced up, startled, and started growling heavily at Aletheia. As she stared into Thorn's eyes, she suddenly wondered if Murtagh told him of their plan, because it certainly didn't seem like it; he looked as if he wanted to tear her to pieces. The same went for the Green dragon who started moving around Aletheia towards her back. Alarmed, Aletheia pulled the blade fiercely to Murtagh's neck causing Thorn to snap at the Green dragon, signaling for him to back off. The green dragon obeyed and backed off, growling. Aletheia then turned to Thorn.

"You are to take me to the gates," she said sternly. "If you don't give me your word that you'll deliver me safely there, I will kill your Rider. Do you understand?"

Thorn merely glared at her and then nodded. She heard the Ancient Language echo in her mind. Satisfied, Aletheia pushed Murtagh to the floor and approached Thorn, sheathing her sword.

Suddenly, the green dragon snapped viciously at her and nipped her left leg. Aletheia cried out in pain, dropping to the floor. Thorn roared at the green dragon, worried that Aletheia would harm his rider.

Picking herself off the ground, Aletheia winced as she put her weight on her left leg. Thorn then lowered to the ground so she could climb into his saddle.

With one last grateful look to Murtagh, who nodded, smiling slightly, Aletheia turned towards the gates as Thorn took off in the air towards her family.

* * *

As soon as they had arrived and met Galbatorix, Mandall sped ahead to confront the powerful King. Their black dragons collided sickeningly in mid-air causing them to descend rapidly, their dragons grappling and slashing in a quick blur. 

When the two opposing dragons landed with a loud thud on the ground Galbatorix cast a barrier spell around him and Mandall, keeping Aletheia's family and Eragon from helping Mandall. Aletheia's mother, Marissa, yelled in frustration as she watched the shimmering dome surround her husband and Galbatorix.

Two black shimmering spells collided in air as their casters stared in determination at each other. The sound that erupted from the collision shook everyone to their core. Mandall and Galbatorix dueled in front of Uru'bean's gates as Aletheia's mother, cousin, and Eragonstood to the side, helpless.

As they dueled, Aletheia's mother watched in horror. She knew her husband was extremely powerful, but he wasn't strong enough to last much longer. Ever since Aletheia had been taken he became weaker. She had watched her husband sit alone on the outskirts of Ellesmera, deep in thought and worry.

As soon as the two men established that they could not defeat each other through magic, they both unsheathed their swords.

They circled each other, never breaking eye contact. Then, Galbatorix spoke.

"Would you like to know how your daughter died?" he hissed, a merciless glare glued on his face.

Mandall stopped and stared at Galbatorix, knowing this was an attempt by the King to distract him - it worked. "You're lying."

Galbatorix also stopped, bringing Aletheia's blood-stained tunic out of his pocket. It was the tunic she was wearing when Cadhla had injured her. "Am I?" he said, throwing the piece of clothing at Mandall.

Mandall turned chalk-white as he took in his daughter's blood-stained shirt.

Galbatorix continued talking as Mandall never took his eyes off of Aletheia's bloodied shirr. "She begged for her life at first. But once my Riders and I were through with her, she was begging for death," he spat, glancing around Aletheia's family, his gaze resting on Tearlach who was stock-still.

"She mentioned you, dragon," he said, smirking at Tearlach. "She kept muttering your name as my Red Rider tortured her in her last few moments of life. It was almost sad."

Tearlach roared, rushing towards the barrier. But he was thrown back as the barrier emitted a bright light at the contact. Saphira roared in protest and rushed to Tearlach's aid.

Smirking, Galbatorix turned back to Aletheia's father. Meanwhile, Shruikan was in the air, dueling Gunther and Anassa. Even though Shruikan was outnumbered two to one, neither side was gaining any progress on the other at first. But after time, Shruikan began weakening.

Gunther relayed the progress of their duel to his Rider and Mandall nodded in satisfaction. He examined Galbatorix as he saw a nasty look cross his enemy's face at the news that his dragon was failing.

Caught unawares, Mandall was sent careening toward the barrier as Galbatorix held out his palm and furiously uttered several spells.

Mandall lay dazed on the ground, at Galbatorix's feet. The King bent down and grabbed Mandall's shirt, pulling him towards him.

"You will die a worse death than your daughter," he whispered. As he raised his ebony sword to deal the deadly blow, Mandall looked up suddenly and saw a sight that calmed his mourning heart. He looked back at Galbatorix, smiling. But the smile was ripped from his lips as he felt the blade tear through his stomach, a horrible scream coming from his failing form.

As he looked from his wound to the approaching figure, sighing in pained happiness,before passing out._

* * *

_

As soon as Thorn was in the air, Aletheia brushed his mind. But he threw her out viciously.

She sighed, holding onto his snow white spikes. Knowing that she wasn't going to through to him mentally, she voiced her thoughts.

"Thorn, I was never going to hurt Murtagh. You must understand this was a part of our plan," she said, yelling.

Nothing.

"I know we despise each other, you and I, but Murtagh helped me. He was a part of the plan. I was never going to hurt him!" she screamed again. She was desperate for him to know the truth – though she didn't know why she really cared.

Finally, he broke his silence. _You cut him, girl! I saw the blood! You cut my Rider's throat! _he screamed in her mind, causing her to flinch.

_It was a mistake! I'm sorry. But we couldn't afford for us to be discovered._

_Very well. I hope what you're making me do doesn't kill Murtagh. Galbatorix will be beyond furious when he sees me deliver you to the battle._

Aletheia remained silent as Thorn's words hit her. _Surely Galbatorix wouldn't kill Murtagh._ He was a great asset to the King's cause. _But he won't be after the war is over no matter the outcome._

But her thoughts were wiped away as they approached the battle. A pearly incandescent dome surrounded two figures in front of the gates. Two dragons stood next to one another outside of the barrier, while three dragons dueled viciously directly above them in the air. As they flew closer, Aletheia realized with a jolt that her father was dueling Galbatorix. _The three dragons must be Gunther, Anassa, and Shruikan_, Aletheia thought worriedly.

They were a hundred feet from the dome when she saw a sight that tore her heart from her chest. Galbatorix threw her father across the field where he lay almost lifeless on the ground. She cried out in horror as she saw Galbatorix raise his blade and sink it into her father's stomach, wrenching a blood-curdling scream from her father.

_Daddy …

* * *

_

Marissa, Aletheia's mother, watched as her husband's soul was wrenched from his body. She screamed in emotional and physical pain as she watched the love of her life's soulseep away by the hand of her sworn enemy.

In the air, Gunther let out a horrendous roar as his Rider's life was stripping from his mind slowly. Taking his chance, Shruikan sunk his sharp teeth into Gunther's neck. Blood gushed from the wound as Gunther fell through the air. Shruikan roared in victory, but did not see the swipe from Anassa's spiked tail heading for his underbelly. As her tail tore through his flesh in retaliation, he snarled in pain, snapping at the female dragon. She dodged the attack and flew sharply towards the ground where her mate lay dying next to his Rider.

* * *

_Daddy _… 

"Nooooo!" Aletheia screamed as Thorn landed. She slid off the dragon easily and ran towards the barrier as Galbatorix tore his sword from her father's stomach.

Galbatorix looked up and narrowed his eyes furiously at the sight of Thorn and Aletheia. But he didn't seem very surprised, leading Aletheia to assume Cadhla had told him about her escape after she discovered Murtagh. The barrier died, letting Aletheia run towards her fading father and his dragon. Aletheia collapsed by her father's side, noticing Shruikan landing limply by Galbatorix's side. She watched as Galbatorix glanced from her father to her mother, cousin, and Eragon, then to Shruikan. She sat still, waiting for Galbatorix to kill her. Instead, he turned from the group and mounted Shruikan.

"Thorn," he said in a low and dangerous tone. Aletheia sent a wave of appreciation towards Thorn as he turned to leave.

_I'm sorry, Aletheia_. Thorn said as he took one last glance back at her. _I truly am._

_Good luck. _She whispered through their thin link.

Aletheia turned from the red dragon and to her father. She grabbed her father's cold hand, begging him stay alive.

"Daddy, please. Please wake up. We need you," she muttered. "I need you," she whispered, looking around desperately for someone to tell her everything was going to be okay and that he was only asleep. _He can't be dead. He can't, _she thought.

Just then, her father coughed, a line of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. Mandall slowly opened his eyes.

"Daddy," she whispered, brushing back his hair.

Mandall brought his hand weakly to his daughter's face and stroked it softly. "Theia. You're alive. I knew you were alive," he said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course I am," she said, laughing slightly, trying to ignore the tears pouring down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Theia. I'm sorry for not protecting you," he whispered. Aletheia looked at him in shock. How could he think he didn't protect her?

"Daddy, you protected me the best you could. I couldn't have asked for a better father," she said, smiling down at him. Her gaze turned to his wound in his stomach and her stomach clenched. _He's dying._

"Mandall," her mother's voice said from behind her. Aletheia moved to the side to allow her mother to hold her father's hand. Aletheia watched as her mother and father gazed lovingly at each other, both knowing that Mandall wasn't going to make it.

"I love you," he said weakly, stroking her mother's face. "Take care of Theia and Micah."

"No, my love, you have to hold on," her mother said, desperately, clenching his hand. Aletheia looked away, tearings streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't bear to watch her father die.

Micah kneeled next to Mandall. His cheeks were stained with his tears as he held on to his surrogate father's hand. "We love you, father. I love you. You have to hold on."

Mandall turned from Micah and coughed horribly, more blood pouring down his face. He slammed his eyes shut in pain. When he opened them, he looked at Aletheia and smiled warmly at her.

"I love you, my daughter. You must protect the Varden. Help your mother and cousin bring freedom to Alagaesia once more. You are more powerful than you realize," he said. With a last squeeze of her mother and Micah's hands, Mandall took his last breath and died before the gates of Uru'bean.

When Aletheia saw her father take his last breath of life, she lost it. She burst into gut-wrenching tears as she buried her face into his shoulder. But she felt a pait of strong hands try to pull her away. She fought to stay with her father as her mom pulled her away from her father's body and into a loving embrace. She looked into her mother's eyes and saw pain and suffering – yet, she saw happiness. Aletheia couldn't help but feel some happiness at being reunited with her family. _But it came too late._

Aletheia tore her eyes from her mother and looked down at her father. As her cousin pulled her into a hug, she couldn't help but think that she had killed her father. _It's my bloody fault._

Next to her father, Gunther lay on his side, an almost peaceful look on his bloodied face. Anassa crouched next to her beloved, silver tears streaming from her black eyes. Aletheia locked eyes with Eragon and he nodded his head to her in sympathy. Saphira stood by her Rider's side, her head cast down in sadness. Tearlach neared Aletheia and put his head on her shoulder softly. No words could describe how grateful Aletheia was for Tearlach in that moment. As soon as Tearlach placed his head on her shoulder, Aletheia felt a wave of serenity rush through her mind.

_Do not weep, little one. Your father led a wonderful life for you and your family. Be still and celebrate his life._ He said, his rumbling voice providing a sense of tranquility for his Rider.

Aletheia nodded as she stood from her father's body. As she looked down at his peaceful face, she made a promise to him.

_I will avenge you, father. I will not let you die in vain.

* * *

_

:sniff: Eek. Sorry. I had to kill him off. But, yeah, it didn't seem that sad. I don't think I did his death justice. Opinions?

I hope you enjoyed that chapter. She's finally out of Galbatorix's control. If you have any questions, just ask. I'll answer. I know that Galbatorix's exit seems a little two easy, but with Shruikan weakened and Thorn without a Rider, Galbatorix couldn't defeat all of them. It was the reason he put that barrier around him and Mandall in the first place. Galbatorix may be powerful, but he is also a coward.

As always: **_review please_**!

**Review responses**:

**Emerald Tiara**: Yes, a love interest. I'm sorry. (Is that a Mary Sue? Sorry, I'm not well-versed on all these fanfic terms) Yet, I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to include it in this story. Perhaps another story? I have yet to decide if I'm doing a sequel – seems kind of pointless.

**Untamedspiral:** Not sure about what's going to happen when they meet. Eragon still believes Murtagh's evil – but Aletheia's going to have something to say about that. But how will he take it? Hm …

**Saucy dog**: Thanks. I try.

**Super-hero fan**: Alas, only four dragons now :- . About Cadhla and her dragon: you shall see.

**Ariel 32**: Yes, Galbatorix punished Murtagh. Rather, he punished his dragon. I'm glad you like my story so much. It's nice to see I have fans. : )

**Niham:** Thanks. Yeah, Murtagh isn't too bad.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Revelations and Preparations

A/N: Oh dear. Over a month since I updated. I **_sincerely_** apologize for the really, really long wait. To tell you the truth, I lost my inspiration for this story. I also had writer's block for a while. ...cringe... I'm truly sorry this chapter is coming out so late. I hope it's better than the last one. I suggest you read the last part of chapter 13 so you have general idea of what happened since it's been so long since you've read my story. :-(

Disclaimer: None of this is mine except the characters who do not appear in Paolini's books.

* * *

Aletheia sat in the middle of her cousin and Eragon and listened to her mother and Queen Islanzadi speak about the coming war. The conference was tiresome causing Aletheia to let her mind wander. Tearlach stood behind her and hummed softly. His humming lulled her into a dazed state as she recalled the past week …

A week ago, Eragon, Aletheia, and her family arrived back in Ellesmera, one Rider and dragon short. It had pained Aletheia and her family immensely to have to give her father an improper burial. They had set his and Gunther's bodies aflame on the plains before Uru'bean Castle. As they gathered the ashes into a tied bundle, her mother assured her they would give her father and Gunther a proper ceremony upon their arrival in Ellesmera – and they did. The entire Elven population of Ellesmera turned out to honor her father and his dragon. The ceremony was a 2-day affair. Everyone wore white robes to celebrate his life and service to the Varden. It was considered bad practice to wear black when someone died – it was said that wearing black would send the soul in question to the Underworld instead of sending it to the gods.

The past week was tough on Aletheia. Her usually cheerful self was gone. In its place stood a brooding and reclusive girl. It startled Aletheia when she realized how much she had changed in the past few weeks. If someone had told her a month ago that she would be sitting in Ellesmera after enduring her father's death and undergoing a mental transformation, she would have laughed at the impossibility of it all. It scared her to think about how different she was now compared to just four weeks ago.

She smiled bitterly to herself, wishing that things were different. But they weren't and she knew that things would never be the same after the Final Battle.

Aletheia sighed, deciding it was better to listen to the important meeting at hand rather than ignore it.

"We still have six weeks until the Empire attacks," her mother was saying calmly. Queen Islanzadi nodded her head serenely as she sat in her throne.

Something about that timeframe didn't sit well with Aletheia. Suddenly, she remembered an encounter she had with Galbatorix when she first arrived in Uru'bean. His cold words flooded her mind …

"_And now, Maria is still safely stationed in Aberon castle, sending me weekly updates on the Varden's plans for the Final Battle that will take place in a month's time…"_

A gasp escaped Aletheia's lips. Everyone turned to her in concern.

"Theia? What's wrong?" Micah said, touching her shoulder.

"Mother, there is a traitor in Aberon," Aletheia said, wondering how could she have been so stupid as to forget something as important as this.

"What? Who?" her mother demanded.

Aletheia squeezed her eyes shut as she uttered the traitor's name, "Maria."

"Your Handmaiden?" Micah asked, shifting in his seat so he could look at her properly.

"No, it can't be," Eragon whispered. He looked devastated. Aletheia remembered how close the two were when she had stayed in Aberon castle. She felt horrible having to tell him this.

"I'm sorry Eragon, it's true." Aletheia said. And so, Aletheia launched into the story about Maria and Cadhla, the new Rider; how they were Galbatorix's nieces, how Maria had been altering the spies' minds for months so that they'd say the battle was in two months when it was really a month away. But that was two weeks ago. Now they only had two weeks to prepare for the battle that would decide all of their fates.

Aletheia watched her mom collapse into a nearby chair and stare helplessly at the ground. Everyone in the room was silent after her words. Suddenly, Islanzadi spoke.

"I will make sure our Army is ready to assist the Varden, Marissa," Islanzadi said to Theia's mother. Marissa looked up from her stare in surprise.

"You can organize your Army in two weeks?" Marissa asked in disbelief.

Queen Islanzadi smiled softly. "I can have them ready to march to Aberon in a week." She stood up and turned to walk away. But before she turned, she said, "I wish for my daughter, Arya, to ride with you back to Aberon. The Army will be there in a week."

Marissa rose from her seat as Islanzadi left the room. Aletheia looked down at her hands.

"I'm sorry mother. I should've mentioned it sooner. But with the funeral and everything else going on, I completely forgot," Aletheia said to her hands.

Her mother nodded her head in understanding. "I understand, Theia. You've been through a lot." Her mother gave her a tight hug before leaving the room. Micah followed Marissa out of the room after gripping Theia's shoulder in comfort.

Aletheia then turned to Eragon. He looked lost and hurt. It just now occurred to Theia the true impact of Maria's actions. She was now the second person in Eragon's life to betray him. She couldn't begin to fathom the pain Eragon was experiencing right now. But she was determined to be there for him nonetheless.

Aletheia realized she was staring at Eragon when he looked up at her with a curious expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Eragon," she said, walking up to him and hugging him tightly. He hugged her fiercely in return. Her stomach tightened as she felt hot tears seep through her shirt onto her shoulder. Eragon gave a constricted sob as he let go of her. He furiously wiped away the tears that he had reluctantly let spill onto his cheeks. His cheeks flushed as he looked at her apologetically.

"Sorry about your shirt," he said in a low voice.

Aletheia smiled, waving her hand dismissively. "Don't worry yourself about my wet shoulder. I've learned in the past few weeks to be more concerned about other things."

Eragon laughed softly before his expression turned serious.

"I know it's too soon after your ordeal, but I must know what the Red Rider did to you and how you escaped," Eragon said, his eyes boring into hers.

Aletheia tore her eyes from Eragon's. She suddenly felt uncomfortable with the situation and what Eragon was asking her. In truth, Murtagh hadn't done anything to her. He had been the one to help her escape. But would Eragon believe her? Or would his hatred for his brother overshadow the truth of her words?

Aletheia sighed heavily before sitting down on the chair next to her. She knew this wouldn't be an easy conversation.

"Eragon, you brother didn't do anything to me," she said, looking at her hands. _Why am I avoiding his eyes? _She thought suddenly_. I have nothing to be ashamed of._

Aletheia locked eyes with Eragon. His forehead creased in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Suddenly frustrated, Aletheia huffed loudly, standing up. "I mean Murtagh didn't touch me or harm me in any way, shape or form, Eragon. Is that so hard for you to believe?"

Hurt flashed through Eragon's eyes briefly before he recovered. He tightened his jaw and turned away from her. "Galbatorix said that the Red Rider tortured you," he muttered.

Aletheia scoffed. "Of all people in Alagaesia you were the last person I expected to believe Galbatorix's silver tongue." She paused, waiting for Eragon to protest, but he remained silent. "Don't you get it? Galbatorix only said that to deepen your hate for your brother."

Eragon whipped around to face her. "Stop calling him that," he said in a low voice.

"What? Stop calling Murtagh your brother?" she asked incredulously. "Eragon, you need to grow up and realize that maybe, just maybe, Murtagh had no choice in joining the Empire. You need to stop calling him the 'Red Rider'. You weren't there during my imprisonment. You didn't see how much pain he is suffering during his servitude in Uru'bean. He's not happy with his actions. He loves you Eragon."

Eragon laughed bitterly. "So Galbatorix made him swear fealty to him? He had no choice in the matter? He can't sacrifice himself for the Varden? Last time I spoke with him, he was very adamant about staying alive and serving his precious Empire. He would rather kill innocent people than sacrifice his and his dragon's lives for the greater good."

Aletheia couldn't believe her ears. She knew Eragon was upset and hurt by Murtagh's betrayal, but she had no idea how much Eragon actually loathed his brother. It angered her to see Eragon's selfishness surface like an angry snake.

Not wanting to stay in the same room as him, Aletheia turned to leave. But before she departed the room, she turned to Eragon with a glare.

"If Murtagh was so set on killing innocent people rather than sacrificing his and Thorn's lives, then answer this question: Why did Murtagh put his life on the line to help me escape? I would call that sacrificing his life." Aletheia spat, before turning on her heel and leaving a shocked and ashamed Eragon in her wake.

* * *

The next morning, Aletheia, her mother, Micah, Eragon and Arya gathered in Queen Islanzadi's chambers for a private farewell. The Queen blessed each of them in the Ancient Language before bidding them farewell.

As they left Queen Islanzadi's chambers one-by-one, Aletheia noticed Eragon wouldn't meet her eyes and stuck close to Arya and Saphira on their journey to the edge of Du Weldenvarden forest. Before her imprisonment and their fight last night, they would usually talk to each other like old friends. But last night changed everything. In the short time of her being alone with Eragon, Aletheia quickly realized how much Eragon still needed to learn. _I guess it's true_, she thought_ – girls mature quicker than boys_. Sighing to herself, Aletheia put her hand on Tearlach's flank and smiled at him.

_You look distracted, little one_, Tearlach supplied.

_Really? I wonder why that is_, she retorted good-naturedly.

Tearlach snorted. _It's good to have you back, Theia_.

Aletheia merely grinned at him before turning her attention to the approaching edge of the forest. Her insides did somersaults as she thought about her tentative future. Would the Empire fall? If it does, will Murtagh be dead? Or if the Varden fails, would she be put in jail or killed on the spot? The uncertainty of her future drove her mad.

As she mounted Tearlach, she waved to Queen Islanzadi's farewell procession and held on tight as Tearlach jumped into the air. Cold air whipped her face reinvigorating her spirit. She welcomed the damp air on her face and even let a carrying laugh escape her mouth. Her laugh was infectious, causing her mother and Micah to chuckle at the old Aletheia resurfacing.

However, the cold air she originally welcomed quickly became a nuisance. She shivered on Tearlach's back after several hours in the air and suddenly wished she was in a warm bed in Aberon castle. The serious Aletheia had returned, pushing the carefree Aletheia back under the skin.

* * *

Two days passed since they left Ellesmera. They entered Surda early in the morning on the third day of their journey. Within several hours, they arrived in Aberon and were greeted by King Orrin walking towards them jovially. Lady Nasuada followed closely behind him. She looked immensely relieved to see them.

"My dear Aletheia! You're safe! Thank the heavens!" he exclaimed.

Aletheia gave him a tight smile. "Thank you, your Majesty." She was about to step aside until a thought suddenly occurred to her. "My Lord, is it possible for me to speak with my Handmaiden, Maria? I have urgent matters to discuss with her."

King Orrin's jubilant expression slipped off his face and was replaced with anger and sadness. "Perhaps you should like to discuss these matters with me, Rider. Your Handmaiden, Maria, left Aberon castle a week ago after murdering several of my servants and spies."

Aletheia looked at him in disbelief. "My Lord, I apologize. During my capture I learned that Maria was Galbatorix's niece, along with his new Rider. She was altering your spies' memories so they would inform you that the battle would take place further in the future."

King Orrin sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Yes, I know. One of the spies managed to shake off the spell she had put on him and inform me of her treachery. But before I could glean any more information from my other spies, she murdered them and escaped on horseback a week ago."

_Of course. Cadhla must have contacted Maria as soon as I escaped, _Aletheia thought bitterly.

"But we have no time to discuss past events. We must plan for this battle. We are already far behind," he said tiredly. "I ask that all of you accompany me to my chambers."

And so, all four Riders plus Arya followed Orrin and Lady Nasuada to discuss the battle. They spent hours going over possible tactics and formations. Aletheia wasn't good at tactics, so she mostly stood to the side and only spoke when prompted. With only ten days until the Final Battle would take place, they did not have time for much opposition to each other's proposed tactics. When Arya informed King Orrin and Lady Nasuada of the Elven army arriving in Aberon in three days' time, he pushed the conference along with new fervor. It was decided that half of the Elven army would be on the front lines and the other half would march in the back; Aberon and the Varden's armies would march in the middle. Aletheia had to mentally slap herself when Eragon mentioned the dwarves' role in the battle – she had completely forgotten about them. The dwarves would fight alongside the Varden and Aberon's armies in the middle.

The most difficult choices, however, did not involve the Elven army or the dwarves – they involved the Riders. It was already decided that Eragon would lead the battle; Which meant that he and Saphira would be on the front lines with the Elves. But it had yet to be decided who would accompany him on the front lines. Aletheia volunteered herself and Tearlach, but her mother shot her down, saying that she was not strong enough. Eragon merely glanced at Aletheia without so much as an apologetic look. Aletheia bit her tongue in anger at her mother and fell silent once more. King Orrin and Lady Nasuada suggested that Aletheia's mother be up front with Eragon and have Micah and Aletheia in the back, just in case Galbatorix decided to split up his Riders and have one of them attack from the back.

When Aletheia finally fell into her bed that night she did so with frustration and exhaustion. She was angry her mother didn't believe in her enough to let her fight alongside Eragon. It did not help Aletheia's mood when Eragon said nothing in her defense. Was he still angry over their spat the other night? Or did he have other reasons?

Aletheia decided she didn't care as she rolled over and fell quickly asleep.

* * *

King Orrin and Lady Nasuada had moved their quarters to a small forest just off of the plains before Aberon's gates where the soldiers were already residing in preparation for the battle. So, over the next few days, Aletheia and Micah spent their time briefing Aberon's soldiers on the battle plans and formations. Once the Elves arrived, they informed them of the formation of the army. In comparison to the Varden and Aberon's soldiers, the Elves took the information in thoughtful silence and would put forth any suggestion they might have. On the other hand, the soldiers were loud and gruff. Some of them were passed out drunk during the meetings, causing Aletheia to become extremely incensed.

After she finished informing a small group of soldiers of their duties, during which several of them were drunk and weren't paying attention, she left grumbling about the difference in manners of the Elves and men.

She barely even noticed the commotion around her. It wasn't until a teenage soldier accidentally bumped into her in his haste to run away that Aletheia saw what was going on. The small encampment of soldiers on the edge of the forest was in chaos. She looked frantically around for the source of the commotion. Her amethyst eyes soon found it.

Murtagh was sitting upon Thorn at the edge of the forest, holding a severed head in his left hand and a blood stained Zar'roc in his right.

* * *

Okay. Um. Better? I think I've lost the story. It took me forever (as you know) to write this chapter and I still think it sucks. Ah, well, as always: please **review**.

Review responses:

Untamedspiral:Well, I hope that was enough of a change? I'm not so sure, though.

Saucy Dog: I know it wasn't sad. I really, really didn't think so either. His death had to happen according to my plot summary, otherwise I probably wouldn't have included a death since I'm so bad at writing sad scenes. Lol.

Emerald Tiara: Thanks!

Booksquirt: Don't worry. She'll get what's coming to her. I guarantee it!


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 of A Hope Renewed

A/N: I suggest you read Chapter 14 before starting this chapter seeing as it's been a while since I've updated.

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Aletheia barely even noticed the commotion around her. It wasn't until a teenage soldier accidentally bumped into her in his haste to run away that Aletheia saw what was going on. The small encampment of soldiers on the edge of the forest was in chaos. She looked frantically around for the source of the commotion. Her amethyst eyes soon found it.

Murtagh was sitting upon Thorn at the edge of the forest, holding a severed head in his left hand and a blood stained Zar'roc in his right

--

Aletheia stared with numb disbelief at the sight before her. Many soldiers had their swords drawn and pointed at Thorn. Some were cursing Murtagh with hatred plastered on their faces. Others just stood and stared. She herself couldn't believe that Murtagh would do something as stupid as this – especially since he was significantly outnumbered. Her eyes narrowed at Murtagh before she stepped forward towards Murtagh and Thorn. Gathering her courage she yelled out to Murtagh, ignoring the subtle tug at her stomach.

"What is your purpose here, Rider of the Empire?"

"I have brought a message from the King of Alagaesia!" Murtagh shouted. Many incredulous murmurs and curses followed his statement.

"Speak then," Aletheia replied coldly.

Something flickered through Murtagh's eyes at her tone, but he recovered and gave his offer. "The King wishes to offer amnesty to anyone who wants to join the Empire in this war," he said, this time speaking to the many soldiers surrounding him. "You will be absolved of all of your betrayals and crimes against the Empire if you fight with us! If you don't join us, consider this a preview of what will come to you." At this, he threw the severed head on the ground at the soldiers' feet.

Aletheia scoffed in disbelief. "And what happens after the war? What happens if you win? Your King will kill them in an instant once he is done with them!"

Murtagh stared long and hard at Aletheia, his jaw tightening in anger. "Is that your answer?"

No one spoke as they continued to stare at their former ally with loathing and incredulity.

Murtagh smirked. "Very well. The offer is still open to those who wish to take it. Inform your comrades. I will see you on the battlefield, soldiers of the Varden."

And with a sweeping glance at the camp, Murtagh nudged Thorn into flight.

Aletheia stood in place, waiting until Thorn faded into the distant sky. She sighed, running her fingers through her hair and tried to ignore the soldier's hushed murmurs. She watched the soldiers talk and shake their heads at Murtagh's offer.

She overheard a soldier say, "I'd rather die a slow and painful death than join that snake of a King." Many who were around him nodded their heads in agreement.

_Maybe Murtagh's appearance wasn't such a bad thing_, she thought.

Taking a deep breath, she looked to the nearest soldier and called him over. He looked no older than twenty years and seemed quite nervous at being called over by a Dragon Rider.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Daneer," he replied, his hands fidgeting.

"Stop fidgeting, Daneer," she snapped, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him. "If you're nervous by just speaking with a Rider, then how will you fight one?"

"Sorry, Lady Aletheia," he said quickly, pushing his hands down to his sides.

"You're in charge while I'm gone," she said sternly, trying hard not to sigh in frustration when his eyes grew wide. _What the Hell am I doing?_ "I don't want any fighting going on. I'm going to speak with Lady Nasuada. Keep them in control."

Aletheia silently sighed as she turned towards Nasuada's camp. As she walked in thoughtful silence, she reached out to Tearlach.

_Tearlach, meet me at Nasuada's camp. I have urgent news. Bring the others._

_We'll be there, Theia_, was his response.

When she entered the camp, she went straight to Nasuada's tent. She was met by the Urgal guards who glared at her menacingly. Rolling her eyes, she laid her hand her sword.

The one on her right stiffened and sniffed at her. Deciding that he was the one in charge, she spoke to him. "Tell Lady Nasuada that Rider Aletheia wishes to speak with her. It's urgent."

He nodded and ducked into the tent. Aletheia heard Nasuada's soft voice from behind the linen door before the Urgal came out. He nodded his approval, letting Aletheia pass.

"You know, Lady Nasuada, I think you made a nice choice in the guards outside your door," Aletheia said, smirking at Nasuada.

"Why is that Rider?" Nasuada replied, her lips curling into a smile.

"Because, it seems they would like nothing more than to rip off any person's head who dares to harm you," Aletheia said.

"Indeed. That is their purpose," Nasuada said, standing up to greet Theia.

"My Lady," Aletheia started, wanting to get straight to the point, "the Red Rider visited my camp just moments ago."

Nasuada's head snapped up quickly. "What did he say?"

Aletheia sighed, sitting in the nearest chair. "He offered amnesty to our soldiers if they joined the Empire."

Nasuada scoffed loudly, but then hesitated. "Did anyone accept his offer?"

"No, my Lady," Theia said, shaking her head. "They were as cold as ice to him."

Nodding her head in approval, Nasuada walked over to make tea. "I knew most of our warriors were loyal. But I had reservations about a select few. I had a feeling Galbatorix would do something like this to shake up the troops' morale."

"We need to tell everyone else about Murtagh's appearance," Aletheia said, accepting a cup of tea from Nasuada.

No sooner had she spoken, than a few loud thuds were heard near the tent, announcing Tearlach and the others' arrival. Eragon, Micah, and Theia's mother came into the tent with hardened looks on their faces.

When Aletheia started to speak, Eragon held up his hand. "We heard. Word spreads like wildfire around here."

Slightly miffed, Aletheia glared at him then looked to Nasuada as she started to speak.

"We only have three more days until the Final Battle begins and we are still behind in preparations," Nasuada said. "We have all our weaponry ready, but our soldiers are still ill-prepared."

Micah shook his head in disappointment. "It's pitiful. Many of them think this is playtime. I don't think they realize what they're up against."

"I believe my camp does now," Aletheia said, noticing a slightly incredulous look from Eragon. "After Murtagh's idiotic proposal, I noticed a change in their attitudes. Yesterday they were fooling around and barely responsive to my direction. But I saw their faces harden and their will strengthen after Murtagh left."

"Well, at least Murtagh's appearance did some good," Nasuada said, causing Eragon to make a coughing noise. Nasuada noticed, but pretended not to hear. "I need all of you to speak to your camps. Do what you have to in order to make them listen and understand this threat. I need to brief King Orrin on what has happened."

Taking that as a dismissal, all four Riders rose to leave. As they exited the tent, Aletheia's mother drew her aside.

"Are you okay, Theia?" she asked, gripping her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"I'm fine, mother," Theia lied. "I just need some time to myself."

Her mother nodded. "I know it must've been hard to see your captor again. But you mustn't worry, Theia. We'll deal with him."

Theia suddenly grew sick to her stomach. She had to get away from her mother. She thought she knew exactly how Theia was feeling. But she didn't. She didn't know anything. Aletheia squirmed out of her mother's grasp and backed up.

"I really need to lie down. I'm fine, mother," Aletheia said, desperate to be alone.

Concern filled her mother's eyes as she sighed and let her go.

Aletheia turned away from her mother and started to walk back to her camp, ignoring Tearlach's calls to her. She had left that kid in charge and she was growing weary of his ability to keep a few hundred men in control. Not that they would do anything bad, but still. She quickened her pace, weaving in an out of the trees when she hit something solid. She looked up and saw Eragon looking down on her.

"You should really watch where you're going," Eragon said, helping Theia to her feet.

Still angry at Eragon for not backing her up during the strategy meeting back at Aberon Castle, Aletheia yanked her arm out of his hand and pushed passed him. Sensing her anger, Eragon caught up with her and touch her arm.

"What's wrong?" he asked, stopping her.

Aletheia looked at him, narrowing her eyes. "Do you really have to ask what's wrong, Eragon?"

At Eragon's silence, Aletheia screamed in frustration. "I'll tell you what's wrong, Eragon Shadeslayer! You are so immature it's unbelievable! You have hung you anger over my head since the day I came back defending Murtagh! You can't accept the fact that your brother is serving Galbatorix against his will – your pride refuses to believe it. You're angry at me for backing him up and that anger has not only affected our friendship, it's affected this battle! You know that I'm more than capable of being on the frontlines beside you and yet you're so angry with me that you refuse to back me up. My mom isn't young like she used to be – she hasn't fought tirelessly since she was around my age! You know she can't withstand the brunt force of Galbatorix's frontlines. Yet you would rather her risk her life even more, than admit to yourself that I'm right! That's what's wrong, Shadeslayer!"

Eragon just stared at her in complete surprise. Growling under her breath, Aletheia went to turn back to her camp when Eragon gripped her arm and spun her around to face him. Staring at him in anger, Aletheia didn't have time to resist as Eragon grabbed her face and brought it to his in a frantic kiss.

She didn't know what exactly was happening. All she knew was that Eragon had pushed her against a tree and was kissing her like no tomorrow. When she finally regained her senses a few seconds later, she pushed him off her and glared at him silently, trying to catch her breath.

Eragon just looked at her, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't, he stepped forward to grab her arms.

"You want to know why I didn't support you being on the frontlines with me Theia?" he yelled, shaking her. "It's because I care about you too much to put you in that much danger! You have no idea how scared I was when you were under Galbatorix's control. I was scared that he'd kill you or that he'd make you join him. I was scared that Murtagh would do something to you – I didn't know how far gone he was. I was scared that - " he paused, letting her go and looking down. Swallowing, he said quietly, "I was scared that you would fall for him and not me."

Without even giving him a second glance, Aletheia stomped her way through the trees and back to her camp. She was fuming when she got back and quickly relieved Daneer of his guard before she stormed into her tent and threw herself onto her bed.

She cursed to herself as she yanked off her belt and threw it across the tent.

_Why me? Why?_

_Are you actually going to talk to me now? _Tearlach asked through their link.

Guilt washed over her as she realized she had completely ignored her dragon.

_I'm sorry Tearlach. Everything is happening all at once. _

_I know young one. Horrible timing._ Tearlach said, with a slight smile in his voice.

_Shut up, Tear_. Aletheia said, laughing slightly.

_How do you feel about him?_

_Who? Murtagh or Eragon?_

_Both._

Aletheia gripped her hair with both hands and pulled in frustration. _I don't know. I honestly don't know. It's not like having feelings for Murtagh would do me any good. But then again, Eragon's feelings for Arya are notorious, so I don't know what he's playing at by kissing me._

_He kissed you? _Tearlach asked in mock surprise.

Aletheia laughed out loud_. I_ _swear, Tear, if you were right here, I would hit you._

Just then, his head popped in through her tent door. _Go right ahead._

Smiling, Aletheia got up and went to stroke Tearlach's head. _How about a quick flight?_

_Sounds good. Shall I get my saddle?_

_No, let's go bareback._

_As you wish, Rider. _

Walking to the edge of the forest, Aletheia watched the sun set behind the distant mountains. The rays from the descending orange orb shone brightly sending a wave of serenity over her. She laid a hand on Tearlach's flank, softly stroking it.

_This is what we're fighting for, Tear. This feeling of peace that everyone in Alagaesia deserves to feel._

Nodding, Tearlach lowered himself to the ground so Theia could mount him.

As they took off into the crisp night air, Aletheia finally felt the day's stress wash away. Even if it was only for a few minutes, she savored every minute of it. She knew she would wish for this feeling a few days from now. She knew that a few days from now, the sound of screaming men and clashing swords would haunt her dreams forever.

Men and women would risk their lives for people they would never know. _She_ would risk her life for people she would never know. It scared her to death.

As if sensing her tension, Tearlach tipped into a steep dive towards the ground and angled up at the last minute, causing Aletheia to scream with laughter.

As she felt herself mesh with Tearlach, she felt a rush of hope. This was why they would win. The hope, love and friendship present in the Varden would win the war. Aletheia knew it. She felt it.

--

I'm so so so so so so sorry! Things have been hellish around here. College was crazy this semester and I have barely had enough time to sleep, lol. I'm on Christmas Break right now and I've finally gotten enough time to sit down and write this. I hope it's okay. I'm just now getting back into the groove of writing this so I'm sorry if this chapter sucks.

In other news – I saw the Eragon movie. I wasn't too thrilled at all. What'd ya'll think?

I hope ya'll had an awesome Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa : ) Oh and have a Happy New Year!!

**Review Responses:**

**Favilla Lupa**: Oh Lord, I forgot. You're right. I forget the small stuff sometimes. Let me know if I made more mistakes in this chapter – I haven't updated in a while :-\. Thanks for the review :)

**Untamedspira**l: Yeah, he needed a good talking to.

**Ariel32**: Enough? Or too much? I added enough to confuse the heck out of Aletheia. I was kind of unsure about the kiss – I hope it was okay. Anyway, thanks for your input!

**Adriannrod Svit-kona Sama**: Yeah you're being a bit too hopeful, lol.

**Devils Advocat**: Yeah, he is – but he still had a lot to learn. Micah and Aletheia have been training a lot longer than Eragon – so that's why they were on even ground.

**Emerald Tiara**: Agreed : )

**Black Opal1**: He might be able to – he might not. Who knows?

**Dd9736**: Here's the update – hope you enjoyed!


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